Is Lingo useful?

I’m introducing a book about LINGO. \"Optimization Modeling and LINDO/LINGO Software\": Compiled by Xie Jinxing and Xue Yi, Tsinghua University Press, July 2005. Author profiles: Xie Jinxing: Doctor of Science, currently a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Tsinghua University. Xue Yi: Doctor of Philosophy, currently a professor at the School of Applied Mathematics and Physics, Beijing University of Technology. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: LINDO and LINGO are software packages developed by the American company LINDO Systems for solving optimization problems. LINDO is used for solving linear and quadratic programming problems. LINGO, in addition to having all of LINDO’s functions, can also be used to solve nonlinear programming problems, as well as to solve certain systems of linear and nonlinear equations and to find roots of algebraic equations. The biggest advantage of LINDO and LINGO software is that it allows the decision variables in the optimization model to be integers (i.e., integer programming), and it operates at high speed. LINGO is essentially a modeling language for optimization problems; it includes many commonly used functions that can be invoked by users when building optimization models, and it provides interfaces with other data files such as text files, EXCEL spreadsheet files, database files, etc., enabling easy input, solution, and analysis of large-scale optimization problems. Due to these features, LINDO and LINGO software are widely used in teaching, research, as well as in industries, commerce, services, and other fields. This book provides a detailed introduction to the usage of the latest versions (LINDO 6.1, LINGO 9.0) that run under Microsoft Windows. It includes numerous examples of mathematical modeling and solution approaches for practical problems in fields such as society, economics, and engineering. It is suitable for teachers and students who wish to understand and use optimization modeling and software, as well as for management decision-makers, scientists and engineers, and other readers with an interest in this topic. It can also serve as a reference book for courses on operations research. Preface In many fields such as engineering technology, economic management, scientific research, and daily life, a common type of decision-making problem that people encounter is one in which, under a set of objective or subjective constraints, decisions are sought to maximize (or minimize) one or more specific indicators. Such decision-making problems are commonly referred to as optimization problems (or simply optimization). The mathematical methods used to address such problems are known as optimization methods, and they represent the fundamental approaches in operations research and management science for solving quantitative decision-making problems. In an era where there is an increasing call for scientific decision-making, using optimization methods to solve quantitative decision problems is undoubtedly in line with the trends of the times and the needs of ongoing developments. Solving decision-making problems using optimization methods involves two basic steps: First, we need to translate and express the actual decision-making problem in the form of mathematical optimization, that is, to establish an optimization model for the decision problem using mathematical modeling techniques, or simply referred to as optimization modeling ； Secondly, after establishing the optimization model, we need to select and utilize optimization methods and tools to solve it. Optimization modeling methods naturally share the common characteristics of general mathematical modeling methods. However, optimization models are a type of mathematical model that is both important and special; therefore, optimization modeling methods possess certain uniqueness and specialization as well. Furthermore, due to the wide variety of optimization models, many of them still lack effective solution methods at present. The effectiveness of different algorithms in solving various models can vary greatly, and using optimization software to solve such models also requires certain expertise and skill. This book aims to take the above two aspects as starting points: on one hand, it focuses on introducing the concepts and methods of optimization modeling, and on the other hand, it emphasizes the use of professional optimization software packages such as LINDO and LINGO. The book uses specific examples for explanation, with little coverage of the mathematical theories related to optimization. This organization is based primarily on the following considerations: there are already many specialized books in China on the mathematical theories related to optimization, and interested readers can find the relevant mathematical theories in almost any book on operations research or optimization methods ； Furthermore, we aim to set a low entry point for this book, so that readers with little mathematical background can understand most of its content. This allows us to focus on emphasizing the importance and practicality of optimization modeling methods, and to utilize the powerful functions of specialized optimization software to obtain the results of the optimized models directly. There are many professional optimization software programs as well as mathematical software packages with some optimization functions available on the international market. The reason why this book chooses to introduce LINDO and LINGO is that these are well-known professional optimization software programs; they possess strong capabilities and excellent computational performance, and generally have clear advantages over those non-professional software packages that only offer limited optimization functions. Furthermore, the LINDO and LINGO software are very easy to use and simple to learn; they hold a large share of the market for optimization software (especially those that run on personal computers), and they are also widely used as teaching tools in operational research textbooks abroad. This book can be roughly divided into two parts: the first four chapters introduce the basic concepts of optimization models and the basic usage of the LINDO/LINGO software. In this section, we strive to provide a comprehensive overview of using the software, so that it can serve as a brief user guide for LINDO/LINGO. However, readers need not master everything on the first read; they can return to it later when needed to review and gain a deeper understanding (especially for the content marked with “*” in the headings). Starting from Chapter 5, the process of optimization modeling is illustrated by introducing some typical application examples of optimization models in various fields, and it is ultimately resolved by using the LINDO/LINGO software for solution. Each example in this section is essentially independent, allowing readers to choose which ones to read as they wish. Due to the limitations of the editors’ skills, there are certainly many shortcomings and even errors in this book; readers are welcome to point them out. Our email address is: j*e@math.tsinghua.edu.cn (Xie Jinxing) ； xueyi@bjut.edu.cn (Xue Yi). Editor, March 2005

I thought it was a Lingo scripting language?