Chapter 19
Employing Linear Programming
IN THIS CHAPTER
Discovering how optimization happens using linear programming
Transforming real-world problems into math and geometry ones
Learning how to use Python to solve linear programming problems
Linear programming (LP) is also called linear optimization and is a method for finding the maximum or minimum value of a function called the objective function. The objective function is constrained by some bounds, also called constraints. As the name hints, LP works by relying on functions and bounds based on linearity, in which everything can be represented as a line in a graph; no curves admitted. Despite such limitations, if you can simplify and define your problem based on linear functions, LP is powerful. Commonly, its applications are vast and important, touching everyday problems in production and logistics.
This chapter helps you understand linear programming. The first part provides you with the concepts needed to know how to use linear programming effectively. It includes the basic math you can’t avoid when implementing it. This first part also shows how simpler problems can be visually represented graphically by a chart.
In the ...
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