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Linear programming
Linear programming (LP, also called linear optimization) is a
method to achieve the best outcome (such as maximum profit or lowest
cost) in a mathematical model whose requirements are represented by
linear relationships. Linear programming is a special case of mathematical
programming (also known as mathematical optimization).

More formally, linear programming is a technique for the optimization of a

linear objective function, subject to linear equality and linear inequality
constraints. Its feasible region is a convex polytope, which is a set defined
as the intersection of finitely many half spaces, each of which is defined by
a linear inequality. Its objective function is a real-valued affine (linear)
function defined on this polyhedron. A linear programming algorithm A pictorial representation of a simple
finds a point in the polyhedron where this function has the smallest (or linear program with two variables
largest) value if such a point exists. and six inequalities. The set of
feasible solutions is depicted in
Linear programs are problems that can be expressed in canonical form as yellow and forms a polygon, a 2-
dimensional polytope. The linear
cost function is represented by the
red line and the arrow: The red line
is a level set of the cost function,
and the arrow indicates the direction
in which we are optimizing.
where x represents the vector of variables (to be determined), c and b are
vectors of (known) coefficients, A is a (known) matrix of coefficients, and
is the matrix transpose. The expression to be maximized or minimized
is called the objective function (cTx in this case). The inequalities Ax ≤ b
and x ≥ 0 are the constraints which specify a convex polytope over which
the objective function is to be optimized. In this context, two vectors are
comparable when they have the same dimensions. If every entry in the first
is less-than or equal-to the corresponding entry in the second, then it can
be said that the first vector is less-than or equal-to the second vector.

Linear programming can be applied to various fields of study. It is widely

used in mathematics, and to a lesser extent in business, economics, and for
some engineering problems. Industries that use linear programming
A closed feasible region of a
models include transportation, energy, telecommunications, and problem with three variables is a
manufacturing. It has proven useful in modeling diverse types of problems convex polyhedron. The surfaces
in planning, routing, scheduling, assignment, and design. giving a fixed value of the objective
function are planes (not shown).
The linear programming problem is
to find a point on the polyhedron
Contents that is on the plane with the highest
possible value.
History
Uses
Standard form
Example
Augmented form (slack form)

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Example
Duality
Variations
Covering/packing dualities
Examples

Complementary slackness
Theory
Existence of optimal solutions
Optimal vertices (and rays) of polyhedra
Algorithms
Basis exchange algorithms
Simplex algorithm of Dantzig
Criss-cross algorithm
Interior point
Ellipsoid algorithm, following Khachiyan
Projective algorithm of Karmarkar
Affine scaling
Vaidya's algorithm
Path-following algorithms
Comparison of interior-point methods and simplex algorithms
Approximate algorithms for covering/packing LPs
Open problems and recent work
Integer unknowns
Integral linear programs
Solvers and scripting (programming) languages
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

History
The problem of solving a system of linear inequalities dates back at least as far as Fourier, who in 1827 published a
method for solving them,[1] and after whom the method of Fourier–Motzkin elimination is named.

In 1939 a linear programming formulation of a problem that is equivalent to the general linear programming problem
was given by the Soviet economist Leonid Kantorovich, who also proposed a method for solving it.[2] It is a way he
developed, during World War II, to plan expenditures and returns in order to reduce costs of the army and to increase
losses imposed on the enemy. Kantorovich's work was initially neglected in the USSR.[3] About the same time as
Kantorovich, the Dutch-American economist T. C. Koopmans formulated classical economic problems as linear
programs. Kantorovich and Koopmans later shared the 1975 Nobel prize in economics.[1] In 1941, Frank Lauren
Hitchcock also formulated transportation problems as linear programs and gave a solution very similar to the later
simplex method.[2] Hitchcock had died in 1957 and the Nobel prize is not awarded posthumously.

During 1946–1947, George B. Dantzig independently developed general linear programming formulation to use for
planning problems in the US Air Force[4]. In 1947, Dantzig also invented the simplex method that for the first time
efficiently tackled the linear programming problem in most cases[4]. When Dantzig arranged a meeting with John von
Neumann to discuss his simplex method, Neumann immediately conjectured the theory of duality by realizing that the

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problem he had been working in game theory was equivalent[4]. Dantzig

provided formal proof in an unpublished report "A Theorem on Linear
Inequalities" on January 5, 1948.[3] In the post-war years, many industries
applied it in their daily planning.

Dantzig's original example was to find the best assignment of 70 people to

70 jobs. The computing power required to test all the permutations to
select the best assignment is vast; the number of possible configurations
exceeds the number of particles in the observable universe. However, it
takes only a moment to find the optimum solution by posing the problem
as a linear program and applying the simplex algorithm. The theory behind
linear programming drastically reduces the number of possible solutions
that must be checked.

The linear programming problem was first shown to be solvable in

polynomial time by Leonid Khachiyan in 1979,[5] but a larger theoretical Leonid Kantorovich
and practical breakthrough in the field came in 1984 when Narendra
Karmarkar introduced a new interior-point method for solving linear-
programming problems.[6]

Uses
Linear programming is a widely used field of optimization for several
reasons. Many practical problems in operations research can be expressed
as linear programming problems.[3] Certain special cases of linear
programming, such as network flow problems and multicommodity flow
problems are considered important enough to have generated much
research on specialized algorithms for their solution. A number of
algorithms for other types of optimization problems work by solving LP
problems as sub-problems. Historically, ideas from linear programming
have inspired many of the central concepts of optimization theory, such as
duality, decomposition, and the importance of convexity and its
John von Neumann
generalizations. Likewise, linear programming was heavily used in the
early formation of microeconomics and it is currently utilized in company
management, such as planning, production, transportation, technology
and other issues. Although the modern management issues are ever-changing, most companies would like to
maximize profits and minimize costs with limited resources. Therefore, many issues can be characterized as linear
programming problems.

Standard form
Standard form is the usual and most intuitive form of describing a linear programming problem. It consists of the
following three parts:

A linear function to be maximized

e.g.

Problem constraints of the following form

e.g.

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Non-negative variables

e.g.

The problem is usually expressed in matrix form, and then becomes:

Other forms, such as minimization problems, problems with constraints on alternative forms, as well as problems
involving negative variables can always be rewritten into an equivalent problem in standard form.

Example
Suppose that a farmer has a piece of farm land, say L km2, to be planted with either wheat or barley or some
combination of the two. The farmer has a limited amount of fertilizer, F kilograms, and pesticide, P kilograms. Every
square kilometer of wheat requires F1 kilograms of fertilizer and P1 kilograms of pesticide, while every square
kilometer of barley requires F2 kilograms of fertilizer and P2 kilograms of pesticide. Let S1 be the selling price of wheat
per square kilometer, and S2 be the selling price of barley. If we denote the area of land planted with wheat and barley
by x1 and x2 respectively, then profit can be maximized by choosing optimal values for x1 and x2. This problem can be
expressed with the following linear programming problem in the standard form:

Maximize: (maximize the revenue—revenue is the "objective function")

Subject to: (limit on total area)
(limit on fertilizer)
(limit on pesticide)
(cannot plant a negative area).
In matrix form this becomes:

maximize

subject to

Augmented form (slack form)

Linear programming problems can be converted into an augmented form in order to apply the common form of the
simplex algorithm. This form introduces non-negative slack variables to replace inequalities with equalities in the
constraints. The problems can then be written in the following block matrix form:

Maximize :

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where are the newly introduced slack variables, are the decision variables, and is the variable to be maximized.

Example
The example above is converted into the following augmented form:

Maximize: (objective function)

subject to: (augmented constraint)
(augmented constraint)
(augmented constraint)

where are (non-negative) slack variables, representing in this example the unused area, the amount of
unused fertilizer, and the amount of unused pesticide.

In matrix form this becomes:

Maximize :

Duality
Every linear programming problem, referred to as a primal problem, can be converted into a dual problem, which
provides an upper bound to the optimal value of the primal problem. In matrix form, we can express the primal
problem as:

Maximize cTx subject to Ax ≤ b, x ≥ 0;

with the corresponding symmetric dual problem,

Minimize bTy subject to ATy ≥ c, y ≥ 0.

An alternative primal formulation is:

Maximize cTx subject to Ax ≤ b;

with the corresponding asymmetric dual problem,

Minimize bTy subject to ATy = c, y ≥ 0.

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There are two ideas fundamental to duality theory. One is the fact that (for the symmetric dual) the dual of a dual
linear program is the original primal linear program. Additionally, every feasible solution for a linear program gives a
bound on the optimal value of the objective function of its dual. The weak duality theorem states that the objective
function value of the dual at any feasible solution is always greater than or equal to the objective function value of the
primal at any feasible solution. The strong duality theorem states that if the primal has an optimal solution, x*, then
the dual also has an optimal solution, y*, and cTx*=bTy*.

A linear program can also be unbounded or infeasible. Duality theory tells us that if the primal is unbounded then the
dual is infeasible by the weak duality theorem. Likewise, if the dual is unbounded, then the primal must be infeasible.
However, it is possible for both the dual and the primal to be infeasible. See dual linear program for details and several
more examples.

Variations

Covering/packing dualities
A covering LP is a linear program of the form:

Minimize: bTy,
subject to: ATy ≥ c, y ≥ 0,
such that the matrix A and the vectors b and c are non-negative.

The dual of a covering LP is a packing LP, a linear program of the form:

Maximize: cTx,
subject to: Ax ≤ b, x ≥ 0,
such that the matrix A and the vectors b and c are non-negative.

Examples
Covering and packing LPs commonly arise as a linear programming relaxation of a combinatorial problem and are
important in the study of approximation algorithms.[7] For example, the LP relaxations of the set packing problem, the
independent set problem, and the matching problem are packing LPs. The LP relaxations of the set cover problem, the
vertex cover problem, and the dominating set problem are also covering LPs.

Finding a fractional coloring of a graph is another example of a covering LP. In this case, there is one constraint for
each vertex of the graph and one variable for each independent set of the graph.

Complementary slackness
It is possible to obtain an optimal solution to the dual when only an optimal solution to the primal is known using the
complementary slackness theorem. The theorem states:

Suppose that x = (x1, x2, ... , xn) is primal feasible and that y = (y1, y2, ... , ym) is dual feasible. Let (w1, w2, ..., wm)
denote the corresponding primal slack variables, and let (z1, z2, ... , zn) denote the corresponding dual slack variables.
Then x and y are optimal for their respective problems if and only if

xj zj = 0, for j = 1, 2, ... , n, and

wi yi = 0, for i = 1, 2, ... , m.

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So if the i-th slack variable of the primal is not zero, then the i-th variable of the dual is equal to zero. Likewise, if the j-
th slack variable of the dual is not zero, then the j-th variable of the primal is equal to zero.

This necessary condition for optimality conveys a fairly simple economic principle. In standard form (when
maximizing), if there is slack in a constrained primal resource (i.e., there are "leftovers"), then additional quantities of
that resource must have no value. Likewise, if there is slack in the dual (shadow) price non-negativity constraint
requirement, i.e., the price is not zero, then there must be scarce supplies (no "leftovers").

Theory

Existence of optimal solutions

Geometrically, the linear constraints define the feasible region, which is a convex polyhedron. A linear function is a
convex function, which implies that every local minimum is a global minimum; similarly, a linear function is a concave
function, which implies that every local maximum is a global maximum.

An optimal solution need not exist, for two reasons. First, if two constraints are inconsistent, then no feasible solution
exists: For instance, the constraints x ≥ 2 and x ≤ 1 cannot be satisfied jointly; in this case, we say that the LP is
infeasible. Second, when the polytope is unbounded in the direction of the gradient of the objective function (where
the gradient of the objective function is the vector of the coefficients of the objective function), then no optimal value is
attained because it is always possible to do better than any finite value of the objective function.

Optimal vertices (and rays) of polyhedra

Otherwise, if a feasible solution exists and if the constraint set is bounded, then the optimum value is always attained
on the boundary of the constraint set, by the maximum principle for convex functions (alternatively, by the minimum
principle for concave functions) since linear functions are both convex and concave. However, some problems have
distinct optimal solutions; for example, the problem of finding a feasible solution to a system of linear inequalities is a
linear programming problem in which the objective function is the zero function (that is, the constant function taking
the value zero everywhere). For this feasibility problem with the zero-function for its objective-function, if there are
two distinct solutions, then every convex combination of the solutions is a solution.

The vertices of the polytope are also called basic feasible solutions. The reason for this choice of name is as follows. Let
d denote the number of variables. Then the fundamental theorem of linear inequalities implies (for feasible problems)
that for every vertex x* of the LP feasible region, there exists a set of d (or fewer) inequality constraints from the LP
such that, when we treat those d constraints as equalities, the unique solution is x*. Thereby we can study these
vertices by means of looking at certain subsets of the set of all constraints (a discrete set), rather than the continuum
of LP solutions. This principle underlies the simplex algorithm for solving linear programs.

Algorithms

Basis exchange algorithms

Simplex algorithm of Dantzig

The simplex algorithm, developed by George Dantzig in 1947, solves LP problems by constructing a feasible solution at
a vertex of the polytope and then walking along a path on the edges of the polytope to vertices with non-decreasing
values of the objective function until an optimum is reached for sure. In many practical problems, "stalling" occurs:

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many pivots are made with no increase in the objective function.[8][9]

In rare practical problems, the usual versions of the simplex
algorithm may actually "cycle".[9] To avoid cycles, researchers
developed new pivoting rules.[10][11][8][9][12][13]

In practice, the simplex algorithm is quite efficient and can be

guaranteed to find the global optimum if certain precautions against
cycling are taken. The simplex algorithm has been proved to solve
"random" problems efficiently, i.e. in a cubic number of steps,[14]
which is similar to its behavior on practical problems.[8][15]

However, the simplex algorithm has poor worst-case behavior: Klee

and Minty constructed a family of linear programming problems for
which the simplex method takes a number of steps exponential in the In a linear programming problem, a
problem size.[8][11][12] In fact, for some time it was not known whether series of linear constraints produces a
the linear programming problem was solvable in polynomial time, i.e. convex feasible region of possible values
of complexity class P. for those variables. In the two-variable
case this region is in the shape of a
convex simple polygon.
Criss-cross algorithm
Like the simplex algorithm of Dantzig, the criss-cross algorithm is a
basis-exchange algorithm that pivots between bases. However, the criss-cross algorithm need not maintain feasibility,
but can pivot rather from a feasible basis to an infeasible basis. The criss-cross algorithm does not have polynomial
time-complexity for linear programming. Both algorithms visit all 2D corners of a (perturbed) cube in dimension D,
the Klee–Minty cube, in the worst case.[13][16]

Interior point
In contrast to the simplex algorithm, which finds an optimal solution by traversing the edges between vertices on a
polyhedral set, interior-point methods move through the interior of the feasible region.

Ellipsoid algorithm, following Khachiyan

This is the first worst-case polynomial-time algorithm ever found for linear programming. To solve a problem which
has n variables and can be encoded in L input bits, this algorithm uses O(n4L) pseudo-arithmetic operations on
numbers with O(L) digits. Leonid Khachiyan solved this long-standing complexity issue in 1979 with the introduction
of the ellipsoid method. The convergence analysis has (real-number) predecessors, notably the iterative methods
developed by Naum Z. Shor and the approximation algorithms by Arkadi Nemirovski and D. Yudin.

Projective algorithm of Karmarkar

Khachiyan's algorithm was of landmark importance for establishing the polynomial-time solvability of linear
programs. The algorithm was not a computational break-through, as the simplex method is more efficient for all but
specially constructed families of linear programs.

However, Khachiyan's algorithm inspired new lines of research in linear programming. In 1984, N. Karmarkar
proposed a projective method for linear programming. Karmarkar's algorithm improved on Khachiyan's worst-case
polynomial bound (giving ). Karmarkar claimed that his algorithm was much faster in practical LP than the
simplex method, a claim that created great interest in interior-point methods.[17] Since Karmarkar's discovery, many
interior-point methods have been proposed and analyzed.

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Affine scaling
Affine scaling is one of the oldest interior point methods to be developed. It was developed in the Soviet Union in the
mid-1960s, but didn't receive much attention until the discovery of Karmarkar's algorithm, after which affine scaling
was reinvented multiple times and presented as a simplified version of Karmarkar's. Affine scaling amounts to doing
gradient descent steps within the feasible region, while rescaling the problem to make sure the steps move toward the
optimum faster.[18]

Vaidya's algorithm
In 1989, Vaidya developed an algorithm that runs in time.[19] Formally speaking, the algorithm takes
arithmetic operations in the worst case, where is the number of constraints, is the number of
variables, and is the number of bits.

Path-following algorithms
For both theoretical and practical purposes, barrier function or path-following methods have been the most popular
interior point methods since the 1990s.[20] In 2015, Lee and Sidford showed that, it can be solved in
time,[21] and it remains taking in the worst case. In 2018, Cohen, Lee and Song
improved the running time to time, is the exponent of matrix multiplication.[22]

Comparison of interior-point methods and simplex algorithms

The current opinion is that the efficiencies of good implementations of simplex-based methods and interior point
methods are similar for routine applications of linear programming.[20] However, for specific types of LP problems, it
may be that one type of solver is better than another (sometimes much better), and that the structure of the solutions
generated by interior point methods versus simplex-based methods are significantly different with the support set of
active variables being typically smaller for the later one.[23]

Approximate algorithms for covering/packing LPs

Covering and packing LPs can be solved approximately in nearly-linear time. That is, if matrix A is of dimension n×m
and has N non-zero entries, then there exist algorithms that run in time O(N·(log N)O(1)/εO(1)) and produce O(1±ε)
approximate solutions to given covering and packing LPs. The best known sequential algorithm of this kind runs in
time O(N + (log N)·(n+m)/ε2),[24] and the best known parallel algorithm of this kind runs in O((log N)2/ε3)
iterations, each requiring only a matrix-vector multiplication which is highly parallelizable.[25]

Open problems and recent work

There are several open problems in the theory of linear programming, the Unsolved problem in
solution of which would represent fundamental breakthroughs in computer science:
mathematics and potentially major advances in our ability to solve large- Does linear
scale linear programs. programming admit a
strongly polynomial-
Does LP admit a strongly polynomial-time algorithm? time algorithm?
Does LP admit a strongly polynomial-time algorithm to find a strictly
(more unsolved problems in
complementary solution?
computer science)
Does LP admit a polynomial-time algorithm in the real number (unit cost)
model of computation?
This closely related set of problems has been cited by Stephen Smale as among the 18 greatest unsolved problems of
the 21st century. In Smale's words, the third version of the problem "is the main unsolved problem of linear
programming theory." While algorithms exist to solve linear programming in weakly polynomial time, such as the

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ellipsoid methods and interior-point techniques, no algorithms have yet been found that allow strongly polynomial-
time performance in the number of constraints and the number of variables. The development of such algorithms
would be of great theoretical interest, and perhaps allow practical gains in solving large LPs as well.

Although the Hirsch conjecture was recently disproved for higher dimensions, it still leaves the following questions
open.

Are there pivot rules which lead to polynomial-time simplex variants?

Do all polytopal graphs have polynomially bounded diameter?
These questions relate to the performance analysis and development of simplex-like methods. The immense efficiency
of the simplex algorithm in practice despite its exponential-time theoretical performance hints that there may be
variations of simplex that run in polynomial or even strongly polynomial time. It would be of great practical and
theoretical significance to know whether any such variants exist, particularly as an approach to deciding if LP can be
solved in strongly polynomial time.

The simplex algorithm and its variants fall in the family of edge-following algorithms, so named because they solve
linear programming problems by moving from vertex to vertex along edges of a polytope. This means that their
theoretical performance is limited by the maximum number of edges between any two vertices on the LP polytope. As
a result, we are interested in knowing the maximum graph-theoretical diameter of polytopal graphs. It has been
proved that all polytopes have subexponential diameter. The recent disproof of the Hirsch conjecture is the first step to
prove whether any polytope has superpolynomial diameter. If any such polytopes exist, then no edge-following variant
can run in polynomial time. Questions about polytope diameter are of independent mathematical interest.

Simplex pivot methods preserve primal (or dual) feasibility. On the other hand, criss-cross pivot methods do not
preserve (primal or dual) feasibility—they may visit primal feasible, dual feasible or primal-and-dual infeasible bases
in any order. Pivot methods of this type have been studied since the 1970s. Essentially, these methods attempt to find
the shortest pivot path on the arrangement polytope under the linear programming problem. In contrast to polytopal
graphs, graphs of arrangement polytopes are known to have small diameter, allowing the possibility of strongly
polynomial-time criss-cross pivot algorithm without resolving questions about the diameter of general polytopes.[13]

Integer unknowns
If all of the unknown variables are required to be integers, then the problem is called an integer programming (IP) or
integer linear programming (ILP) problem. In contrast to linear programming, which can be solved efficiently in
the worst case, integer programming problems are in many practical situations (those with bounded variables) NP-
hard. 0–1 integer programming or binary integer programming (BIP) is the special case of integer
programming where variables are required to be 0 or 1 (rather than arbitrary integers). This problem is also classified
as NP-hard, and in fact the decision version was one of Karp's 21 NP-complete problems.

If only some of the unknown variables are required to be integers, then the problem is called a mixed integer
programming (MIP) problem. These are generally also NP-hard because they are even more general than ILP
programs.

There are however some important subclasses of IP and MIP problems that are efficiently solvable, most notably
problems where the constraint matrix is totally unimodular and the right-hand sides of the constraints are integers or
– more general – where the system has the total dual integrality (TDI) property.

Advanced algorithms for solving integer linear programs include:

cutting-plane method
Branch and bound
Branch and cut
Branch and price
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if the problem has some extra structure, it may be possible to apply delayed column generation.
Such integer-programming algorithms are discussed by Padberg and in Beasley.

Integral linear programs

A linear program in real variables is said to be integral if it has at least one optimal solution which is integral.
Likewise, a polyhedron is said to be integral if for all bounded feasible objective functions c, the
linear program has an optimum with integer coordinates. As observed by Edmonds and Giles in
1977, one can equivalently say that the polyhedron is integral if for every bounded feasible integral objective
function c, the optimal value of the linear program is an integer.

Integral linear programs are of central importance in the polyhedral aspect of combinatorial optimization since they
provide an alternate characterization of a problem. Specifically, for any problem, the convex hull of the solutions is an
integral polyhedron; if this polyhedron has a nice/compact description, then we can efficiently find the optimal
feasible solution under any linear objective. Conversely, if we can prove that a linear programming relaxation is
integral, then it is the desired description of the convex hull of feasible (integral) solutions.

Terminology is not consistent throughout the literature, so one should be careful to distinguish the following two
concepts,

in an integer linear program, described in the previous section, variables are forcibly constrained to be integers,
and this problem is NP-hard in general,
in an integral linear program, described in this section, variables are not constrained to be integers but rather one
has proven somehow that the continuous problem always has an integral optimal value (assuming c is integral),
and this optimal value may be found efficiently since all polynomial-size linear programs can be solved in
polynomial time.
One common way of proving that a polyhedron is integral is to show that it is totally unimodular. There are other
general methods including the integer decomposition property and total dual integrality. Other specific well-known
integral LPs include the matching polytope, lattice polyhedra, submodular flow polyhedra, and the intersection of 2
generalized polymatroids/g-polymatroids – e.g. see Schrijver 2003.

A bounded integral polyhedron is sometimes called a convex lattice polytope, particularly in two dimensions.

Solvers and scripting (programming) languages

Permissive licenses:

Name License Brief info

An open-source modeling language for large-scale linear, mixed integer and nonlinear
Pyomo BSD
optimization

Copyleft (reciprocal) licenses:

Name License Brief info

Cassowary
an incremental constraint solving toolkit that efficiently solves systems of linear equalities
constraint LGPL
and inequalities
solver
CLP CPL an LP solver from COIN-OR
GNU Linear Programming Kit, an LP/MILP solver with a native C API and numerous (15)
glpk GPL third-party wrappers for other languages. Specialist support for flow networks. Bundles
the AMPL-like GNU MathProg modelling language and translator.
Qoca GPL a library for incrementally solving systems of linear equations with various goal functions
R-Project GPL a programming language and software environment for statistical computing and graphics
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MINTO (Mixed Integer Optimizer, an integer programming solver which uses branch and bound algorithm) has
publicly available source code[26] but is not open source.

Proprietary licenses:

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Name Brief info

A modeling language that allows to model linear, mixed integer, and nonlinear optimization models.
It also offers a tool for constraint programming. Algorithm, in the forms of heuristics or exact
AIMMS methods, such as Branch-and-Cut or Column Generation, can also be implemented. The tool calls
an appropriate solver such as CPLEX, Gurobi or similar, to solve the optimization problem at hand.
Academic licenses are free of charge.
A popular modeling language for large-scale linear, mixed integer and nonlinear optimisation with a
AMPL
free student limited version available (500 variables and 500 constraints).
API to MATLAB and Python. Solve example Linear Programming (LP) problems (http://apmonitor.c
APMonitor
om/me575/index.php/Main/LinearProgramming) through MATLAB, Python, or a web-interface.
Popular solver with an API for several programming languages, and also has a modelling language
CPLEX and works with AIMMS, AMPL, GAMS, MPL, OpenOpt, OPL Development Studio, and TOMLAB.
Free for academic use.
Excel Solver A nonlinear solver adjusted to spreadsheets in which function evaluations are based on the
Function recalculating cells. Basic version available as a standard add-on for Excel.
FortMP
GAMS
Solver with parallel algorithms for large-scale linear programs, quadratic programs and mixed-
Gurobi
integer programs. Free for academic use.
IMSL Collections of math and statistical algorithms available in C/C++, Fortran, Java and C#/.NET.
Numerical Optimization routines in the IMSL Libraries include unconstrained, linearly and nonlinearly
Libraries constrained minimizations, and linear programming algorithms.
Solver with an API for large scale optimization of linear, integer, quadratic, conic and general
nonlinear programs with stochastic programming extensions. It offers a global optimization
procedure for finding guaranteed globally optimal solution to general nonlinear programs with
LINDO
continuous and discrete variables. It also has a statistical sampling API to integrate Monte-Carlo
simulations into an optimization framework. It has an algebraic modeling language (LINGO) and
allows modeling within a spreadsheet (What'sBest).
Maple A general-purpose programming-language for symbolic and numerical computing.
A general-purpose and matrix-oriented programming-language for numerical computing. Linear
MATLAB programming in MATLAB requires the Optimization Toolbox in addition to the base MATLAB
product; available routines include INTLINPROG and LINPROG
A WYSIWYG math editor. It has functions for solving both linear and nonlinear optimization
Mathcad
problems.
A general-purpose programming-language for mathematics, including symbolic and numerical
Mathematica
capabilities.
A solver for large scale optimization with API for several languages (C++,java,.net, Matlab and
MOSEK
python).
A collection of mathematical and statistical routines developed by the Numerical Algorithms Group
for multiple programming languages (C, C++, Fortran, Visual Basic, Java and C#) and packages
NAG (MATLAB, Excel, R, LabVIEW). The Optimization chapter of the NAG Library includes routines for
Numerical linear programming problems with both sparse and non-sparse linear constraint matrices, together
Library with routines for the optimization of quadratic, nonlinear, sums of squares of linear or nonlinear
functions with nonlinear, bounded or no constraints. The NAG Library has routines for both local
and global optimization, and for continuous or integer problems.

NMath Stats A general-purpose .NET statistical library containing a simplex solver.[27]

OptimJ A Java-based modeling language for optimization with a free version available.[28][29]
A suite of solvers for Linear, Integer, Nonlinear, Derivative-Free, Network, Combinatorial and
Constraint Optimization; the Algebraic modeling language OPTMODEL (http://support.sas.com/doc
SAS/OR umentation/cdl/en/ormpug/63975/HTML/default/ormpug_optmodel_sect005.htm); and a variety of
vertical solutions aimed at specific problems/markets, all of which are fully integrated with the SAS
System.
SCIP A general-purpose constraint integer programming solver with an emphasis on MIP. Compatible
with Zimpl (http://zimpl.zib.de/) modelling language. Free for academic use and available in source
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code.
Solver for large-scale linear programs, quadratic programs, general nonlinear and mixed-integer
XPRESS programs. Has API for several programming languages, also has a modelling language Mosel and
works with AMPL, GAMS. Free for academic use.
VisSim A visual block diagram language for simulation of dynamical systems.

See also
Convex programming
Dynamic programming
Expected shortfall#Optimization of expected shortfall
Input–output model
Job shop scheduling
Linear-fractional programming (LFP)
LP-type problem
Mathematical programming
Nonlinear programming
Oriented matroid
Quadratic programming, a superset of linear programming
Semidefinite programming
Shadow price
Simplex algorithm, used to solve LP problems

Notes
1. Gerard Sierksma; Yori Zwols (2015). Linear and Integer Optimization: Theory and Practice, Third Edition. CRC
Press. p. 1. ISBN 9781498710169.
2. Alexander Schrijver (1998). Theory of Linear and Integer Programming. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 221–222.
ISBN 978-0-471-98232-6.
3. George B. Dantzig (April 1982). "Reminiscences about the origins of linear programming" (http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-
bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA112060). Operations Research Letters. 1 (2): 43–48.
doi:10.1016/0167-6377(82)90043-8 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0167-6377%2882%2990043-8).
4. Dantzig, George B. (George Bernard), 1914-2005. (©1997-2003). Linear programming. Thapa, Mukund Narain.
New York: Springer. pp. xxvii. ISBN 0387948333. OCLC 35318475 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35318475).
Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Leonid Khachiyan (1979). "A Polynomial Algorithm for Linear Programming". Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR. 224
(5): 1093–1096.
6. Narendra Karmarkar (1984). "A New Polynomial-Time Algorithm for Linear Programming". Combinatorica. 4 (4):
373–395. doi:10.1007/BF02579150 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF02579150).
7. Vazirani (2001, p. 112)
8. Dantzig & Thapa (2003)
9. Padberg (1999)
10. Bland (1977)
11. Murty (1983)
12. Papadimitriou & Steiglitz
13. Fukuda & Terlaky (1997): Fukuda, Komei; Terlaky, Tamás (1997). Thomas M. Liebling and Dominique de Werra
(eds.). "Criss-cross methods: A fresh view on pivot algorithms". Mathematical Programming, Series B. 79 (1–3):
369–395. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.36.9373 (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.36.9373).
doi:10.1007/BF02614325 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF02614325). MR 1464775 (https://www.ams.org/mathscin
et-getitem?mr=1464775).
14. Borgwardt (1987)
15. Todd (2002)

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16. Roos (1990): Roos, C. (1990). "An exponential example for Terlaky's pivoting rule for the criss-cross simplex
method". Mathematical Programming. Series A. 46 (1): 79–84. doi:10.1007/BF01585729 (https://doi.org/10.100
7%2FBF01585729). MR 1045573 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=1045573).
17. Strang, Gilbert (1 June 1987). "Karmarkar's algorithm and its place in applied mathematics". The Mathematical
Intelligencer. 9 (2): 4–10. doi:10.1007/BF03025891 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF03025891). ISSN 0343-6993
(https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0343-6993). MR 0883185 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=0883185).
18. Vanderbei (2001, pp. 333–347)
19. Vaidya, Pravin M. (1989). Speeding-up linear programming using fast matrix multiplication (https://ieeexplore.ieee.
org/document/63499). 30th Annual Symposium on Foun- dations of Computer Science (FOCS'89).
20. Gondzio & Terlaky (1996)
21. Lee, Yin-Tat; Sidford, Aaron (2015). Efficient inverse maintenance and faster algorithms for linear programming.
FOCS '15 Foundations of Computer Science. arXiv:1503.01752 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1503.01752).
22. Cohen, Michael B.; Lee, Yin-Tat; Song, Zhao (2018). Solving Linear Programs in the Current Matrix Multiplication
Time. arXiv:1810.07896 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.07896).
23. Illés, Tibor; Terlaky, Tamás (2002). "Pivot versus interior point methods: Pros and cons" (https://strathprints.strath.
ac.uk/9200/). European Journal of Operational Research. 140 (2): 170. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.646.3539 (https://citese
erx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.646.3539). doi:10.1016/S0377-2217(02)00061-9 (https://doi.org/10.
1016%2FS0377-2217%2802%2900061-9).
24. Christos Koufogiannakis; Neal E. Young (2013). "A Nearly Linear-Time PTAS for Explicit Fractional Packing and
Covering Linear Programs". Algorithmica. 70 (4): 648–674. arXiv:0801.1987 (https://arxiv.org/abs/0801.1987).
doi:10.1007/s00453-013-9771-6 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00453-013-9771-6).
25. Zeyuan Allen-Zhu; Lorenzo Orecchia (2015). Using Optimization to Break the Epsilon Barrier: A Faster and
Simpler Width-Independent Algorithm for Solving Positive Linear Programs in Parallel. ACM-SIAM Symposium on
Discrete Algorithms. arXiv:1407.1925 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1407.1925). Bibcode:2014arXiv1407.1925A (https://ui.
adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014arXiv1407.1925A).
26. "COR@L – Computational Optimization Research At Lehigh" (http://coral.ie.lehigh.edu/~minto/download.html).
lehigh.edu.
27. "C# Linear Programming" (http://www.centerspace.net/landing.php?id=lp). centerspace.net.
28. http://www.in-ter-trans.eu/resources/Zesch_Hellingrath_2010_Integrated+Production-Distribution+Planning.pdf
OptimJ used in an optimization model for mixed-model assembly lines, University of Münster
29. http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/AAAI/AAAI10/paper/viewFile/1769/2076 OptimJ used in an Approximate
Subgame-Perfect Equilibrium Computation Technique for Repeated Games

References
Kantorovich, L. V. (1940). "Об одном эффективном методе решения некоторых классов экстремальных
проблем" [A new method of solving some classes of extremal problems]. Doklady Akad Sci SSSR. 28: 211–214.
F. L. Hitchcock: The distribution of a product from several sources to numerous localities (https://onlinelibrary.wile
y.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sapm1941201224), Journal of Mathematics and Physics, 20, 1941, 224–230.
G.B Dantzig: Maximization of a linear function of variables subject to linear inequalities (https://books.google.com/
books?hl=en&lr=&id=ZpYca36h464C&oi=fnd&pg=PA24&dq=%22Maximization+of+a+linear+function+of+variable
s+subject+to+linear+inequalities%22&ots=0viWRKQVGk&sig=25NCv3tDYjTLYxCxn9deMWBn8VE), 1947.
Published pp. 339–347 in T.C. Koopmans (ed.):Activity Analysis of Production and Allocation, New York-London
1951 (Wiley & Chapman-Hall)
J. E. Beasley, editor. Advances in Linear and Integer Programming. Oxford Science, 1996. (Collection of surveys)
Bland, Robert G. (1977). "New Finite Pivoting Rules for the Simplex Method". Mathematics of Operations
Research. 2 (2): 103–107. doi:10.1287/moor.2.2.103 (https://doi.org/10.1287%2Fmoor.2.2.103). JSTOR 3689647
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/3689647).
Karl-Heinz Borgwardt, The Simplex Algorithm: A Probabilistic Analysis, Algorithms and Combinatorics, Volume 1,
Springer-Verlag, 1987. (Average behavior on random problems)
Richard W. Cottle, ed. The Basic George B. Dantzig. Stanford Business Books, Stanford University Press,
Stanford, California, 2003. (Selected papers by George B. Dantzig)
George B. Dantzig and Mukund N. Thapa. 1997. Linear programming 1: Introduction. Springer-Verlag.
George B. Dantzig and Mukund N. Thapa. 2003. Linear Programming 2: Theory and Extensions. Springer-Verlag.
(Comprehensive, covering e.g. pivoting and interior-point algorithms, large-scale problems, decomposition
following Dantzig–Wolfe and Benders, and introducing stochastic programming.)
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Edmonds, Jack; Giles, Rick (1977). "A Min-Max Relation for Submodular Functions on Graphs". Studies in Integer
Programming. Annals of Discrete Mathematics. 1. pp. 185–204. doi:10.1016/S0167-5060(08)70734-9 (https://doi.
org/10.1016%2FS0167-5060%2808%2970734-9). ISBN 978-0-7204-0765-5.
Fukuda, Komei; Terlaky, Tamás (1997). Thomas M. Liebling and Dominique de Werra (eds.). "Criss-cross
methods: A fresh view on pivot algorithms". Mathematical Programming, Series B. 79 (1–3): 369–395.
CiteSeerX 10.1.1.36.9373 (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.36.9373).
doi:10.1007/BF02614325 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF02614325). MR 1464775 (https://www.ams.org/mathscin
et-getitem?mr=1464775).
Gondzio, Jacek; Terlaky, Tamás (1996). "3 A computational view of interior point methods" (http://www.maths.ed.a
c.uk/~gondzio/CV/oxford.ps). In J. E. Beasley (ed.). Advances in linear and integer programming. Oxford Lecture
Series in Mathematics and its Applications. 4. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 103–144. MR 1438311 (http
s://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=1438311). Postscript file at website of Gondzio (http://www.maths.ed.ac.
uk/~gondzio/CV/oxford.ps) and at McMaster University website of Terlaky (http://www.cas.mcmaster.ca/~terlaky/fil
es/dut-twi-94-73.ps.gz).
Murty, Katta G. (1983). Linear programming. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. xix+482. ISBN 978-0-471-
09725-9. MR 0720547 (https://www.ams.org/mathscinet-getitem?mr=0720547). (comprehensive reference to
classical approaches).
Evar D. Nering and Albert W. Tucker, 1993, Linear Programs and Related Problems, Academic Press.
(elementary)
M. Padberg, Linear Optimization and Extensions, Second Edition, Springer-Verlag, 1999. (carefully written
account of primal and dual simplex algorithms and projective algorithms, with an introduction to integer linear
programming – featuring the traveling salesman problem for Odysseus.)
Christos H. Papadimitriou and Kenneth Steiglitz, Combinatorial Optimization: Algorithms and Complexity,
Corrected republication with a new preface, Dover. (computer science)
Michael J. Todd (February 2002). "The many facets of linear programming". Mathematical Programming. 91 (3):
417–436. doi:10.1007/s101070100261 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs101070100261). (Invited survey, from the
International Symposium on Mathematical Programming.)
Vanderbei, Robert J. (2001). Linear Programming: Foundations and Extensions. Springer Verlag.
Vazirani, Vijay V. (2001). Approximation Algorithms. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-540-65367-7. (Computer
science)

Further reading
A reader may consider beginning with Nering and Tucker, with the first volume of Dantzig and Thapa, or with
Williams.

Dmitris Alevras and Manfred W. Padberg, Linear Optimization and Extensions: Problems and Solutions (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=RAUyB8NDHJwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false), Universitext, Springer-
Verlag, 2001. (Problems from Padberg with solutions.)
Mark de Berg, Marc van Kreveld, Mark Overmars, and Otfried Schwarzkopf (2000). Computational Geometry (htt
ps://archive.org/details/computationalgeo00berg) (2nd revised ed.). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-540-65620-3.
Chapter 4: Linear Programming: pp. 63–94. Describes a randomized half-plane intersection algorithm for linear
programming.
Michael R. Garey and David S. Johnson (1979). Computers and Intractability: A Guide to the Theory of NP-
Completeness. W.H. Freeman. ISBN 978-0-7167-1045-5. A6: MP1: INTEGER PROGRAMMING, pg.245.
(computer science, complexity theory)
Bernd Gärtner and Jiří Matoušek (2006). Understanding and Using Linear Programming. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 3-
540-30697-8. (elementary introduction for mathematicians and computer scientists)
Cornelis Roos, Tamás Terlaky, Jean-Philippe Vial, Interior Point Methods for Linear Optimization, Second Edition,
Springer-Verlag, 2006. (Graduate level)
Alexander Schrijver (2003). Combinatorial optimization: polyhedra and efficiency. Springer.
Alexander Schrijver, Theory of Linear and Integer Programming. John Wiley & sons, 1998, ISBN 0-471-98232-6
(mathematical)
Gerard Sierksma; Yori Zwols (2015). Linear and Integer Optimization: Theory and Practice. CRC Press.
ISBN 978-1-498-71016-9.
Gerard Sierksma; Diptesh Ghosh (2010). Networks in Action; Text and Computer Exercises in Network
Optimization. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4419-5512-8. (linear optimization modeling)
H. P. Williams, Model Building in Mathematical Programming (https://books.google.com/books?id=YJRh0tOes7U
C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false), Fifth Edition, 2013. (Modeling)
Stephen J. Wright, 1997, Primal-Dual Interior-Point Methods (https://books.google.com/books?id=oQdBzXhZeUk
C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false), SIAM. (Graduate level)
Yinyu Ye, 1997, Interior Point Algorithms: Theory and Analysis, Wiley. (Advanced graduate-level)
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Ziegler, Günter M., Chapters 1–3 and 6–7 in Lectures on Polytopes, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1994.
(Geometry)

External links
Guidance On Formulating LP Problems (http://people.brunel.ac.uk/~mastjjb/jeb/or/lp.html)
Mathematical Programming Glossary (http://glossary.computing.society.informs.org/)
The Linear Programming FAQ (http://lpsolve.sourceforge.net/4.0/LinearProgrammingFAQ.htm)
Benchmarks For Optimisation Software (http://plato.asu.edu/bench.html)

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