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Solvers, or optimizers, are software tools that help users
find the best way to allocate scarce resources. The resources may
be raw materials, machine time or people time, money, or anything
else in limited supply. The "best" or optimal solution
may mean maximizing profits, minimizing costs, or achieving the
best possible quality.
A wide range of successful applications of
optimization have been developed by businesses, governments,
universities, and other groups. Companies such as General
Motors have reported saving billions of dollars using
optimization. Many individual users of Frontline Systems'
products have saved their companies millions of dollars, often after
just a few months of work developing and optimizing a model.
To use a solver, the user must build a model
that specifies:
 | The resources to be used, using decision
variables, |
| The limits on
resource usage, called constraints, and |
| The measure to optimize,
called the objective. |
The solver will find values for the decision
variables that satisfy the constraints while optimizing (maximizing
or minimizing) the objective. To learn more about this, and
optionally go through a step-by-step example, take our Solver
Tutorial.
Using Spreadsheets. Spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel provide a
convenient way to build such a model. Anyone who has used a
spreadsheet is already familiar with the process: Cells on a
worksheet can hold numbers, labels, or formulas that calculate new
values -- such as the objective of an optimization.
Constraints are simply limits (specified with <=, = or >=
relations) on formula cells. And the decision variables are
simply input cells containing numbers. Frontline's Premium
Solver products provide powerful tools for solving, or
optimizing, such models.
Using Custom Programs. Another way to build an optimization model is to
write code in a programming language such as Visual Basic, VB.NET,
C/C++, C#, Java or MATLAB. Instead of spreadsheet cells, variables or arrays in
the program hold the decision variables and calculate the
constraints and objective. Frontline's Solver SDK
products provide equally powerful tools for solving, or optimizing,
models in this form.
The choice of approach is up to the user.
Spreadsheets offer a quick way to build a model, and one that can be
easily explained to other users who are usually spreadsheet-literate. Application programs
written in compiled programming languages may offer higher performance and may be
easier to distribute widely, within a company or to commercial
users. No matter which approach is chosen, Frontline Systems'
Solver products provide the key optimization technology in an
easy-to-use, reliable form.
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Services
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To Learn More:
For instant access to example models, full-text User Guides,
and to download free 15-day trial versions of our
software products whenever you're ready, you can register now. |
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| Our Premium Solver Platform
works with existing Excel Solver models, solves much larger problems up to hundreds of
times faster, and solves new kinds of problems via Evolutionary Solver.
Solver Engines plug into the Premium Solver Platform. |
| Solver
Platform SDK makes it easy to solve any type
or size of optimization problem in your Visual Basic,
VB.NET, C/C++, C#, Java, or MATLAB program. And
it's easy to deploy your application with our flexible
licensing for software vendors and corporate
developers. |
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