AMPL Guide

AMPL stands for "A Mathematical Programming Language". It is used to describe mathematical programmes.

AMPL is a commerical software package from Bell Laboratories and is also distributed by ILOG along with the mixed-integer linear programme solver CPLEX.

For more details see the main AMPL website:

www.ampl.com

and there is a good, fairly comprehensive book on AMPL:

AMPL: A Modeling Language for Mathematical Programming

However, you don't need to pay for AMPL right away! There is a limited functionality student version which also provides CPLEX (the mixed-integer linear programme solver from ILOG) and MINOS (the nonlinear programme solver from the Systems Optimization Laboratory at Stanford University). This Student Version will have enough functionality for most of the problems you will encounter in the case studies on the OpsRes Web.

You can also use AMPL over the web at the AMPL web interface or you can use AMPL as an interface to many diferent optimisation solvers at the NEOS Server for Optimization.

Notation In this AMPL Guide we will enclose required user input with < and > and optional user input with [ and ], e.g.,

var <varname> [vartype];

means that the user must supply varname (the variable name), but has the option to either specify vartype (the type of variable) or not (the type will default to a real variable).

Further AMPL topics

• The AMPL Process (read me first!)
• How to Install AMPL at Home
• Using the Command Line
• The AMPL Syntax Guide
• The Transportation Problem in AMPL
• The Transshipment Problem Problem in AMPL
• Integer Programming with AMPL
• Columnwise Formulations in AMPL

-- TWikiAdminGroup - 24 Feb 2008