Solver Platform SDK Offers Application Developers Easy-to-Use Optimization and Simulation Technology.INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. -- Frontline Systems' new Solver Platform SDK (Software Developer's Kit) See developer's toolkit and Windows SDK. SDK - Software Developers Kit (or "Software Development Kit"). (Software Development Kit) makes the company's full suite of Solvers, for every type and size of optimization problem, available to developers using today's most popular platforms and languages: Microsoft COM (1) (Computer Output Microfilm) Creating microfilm or microfiche from the computer. A COM machine receives print-image output from the computer either online or via tape or disk and creates a film image of each page. and .NET, Java and MATLAB (MATrix LABoratory) A programming language for technical computing from The MathWorks, Natick, MA (www.mathworks.com). Used for a wide variety of scientific and engineering calculations, especially for automatic control and signal processing, MATLAB runs on Windows, Mac and , as well as C/C C/C Center to Center C/C Combustion Chamber C/C Command/Control C/C Crew Chief C/C cabin cruiser (US DoD) C/C chief complaint (medical) C/C Channel-to-Channel C/C Communication and Collaboration ++, Visual Basic and other languages. Unlike other "callable Callable Applies mainly to convertible securities. Redeemable by the issuer before the scheduled maturity under specific conditions and at a stated price, which usually begins at a premium to par and declines annually. library" optimizers, the SDK features easy-to-use "wizards" to help developers get started quickly, and a new object-oriented API (Application Programming Interface) that enables developers to work at a higher level, closer to a modeling language than a conventional programming language. "Ease of use for developers is our major goal with the Solver Platform SDK," said Daniel Fylstra, president of Frontline Systems. "From quick starts for desktop and Web server applications, to greatly simplified packaging and licensing for deployment, we've made every step of application development easier and more productive." Five Bundled Solvers for Optimization and Simulation The Solver Platform SDK features five bundled Solver Engines for optimization and simulation -- far more than other "callable libraries" -- including a Simplex Solver for LP/QP/MIP (linear, quadratic quadratic, mathematical expression of the second degree in one or more unknowns (see polynomial). The general quadratic in one unknown has the form ax2+bx+c, where a, b, and c are constants and x is the variable. and mixed integer) problems up to 8,000 variables, a Barrier Solver for QCP/SOCP (quadratically constrained and second order cone programming A Second order cone program (SOCP) is a convex optimization problem of the form
where the problem parameters are , and . Here is the optimization variable. ) problems up to 2,000 variables, a GRG GRG - A computer algebra system for differential geometry, gravitation and field theory. Version 3.1 works with PSL-based REDUCE 3.3 or 3.4. E-mail: V.V. Zhytnikov <vvzhy@phy.ncu.edu.tw>. Nonlinear Solver for NLP (Natural Language Processing) The capability of understanding human language. If the language is spoken, voice recognition plays an important role in converting the sounds to individual words. Then, natural language processing figures out what the words mean. (smooth nonlinear) problems up to 500 variables, Frontline's highly regarded Evolutionary Solver for arbitrary NSP (1) (Network Service Provider) An organization that provides a high-speed Internet backbone to ISPs and other service providers. Sprint, MCI and UUNET are examples of NSPs. See Internet backbones. (non-smooth) problems up to 500 variables, and a new Monte Carlo Solver Engine for building simulation applications. Solver Engines Support Excel, MATLAB, Programming Languages Frontline's eight large-scale Solver Engines Version 6.5 "plug into" the Solver Platform SDK as well as the Premium Solver Platform for Excel, to solve problems with hundreds of thousands of variables and constraints. Unlike other software for optimization and simulation, Frontline's Solver Engines can be used with Excel, MATLAB, Java, all .NET and COM languages, and conventional procedural programming languages -- all for the price of one license. Wizards Help Developers Get Started Quickly In a "first" for optimization software, the Solver Platform SDK includes a series of "wizards" for C++, C#, Visual Basic and VB.NET (Visual Basic .NET) An object-oriented programming language from Microsoft. It is the .NET version of the Visual Basic (VB) programming language. Like all .NET languages, VB.NET uses the Common Language Runtime (CLR) for program execution. VB. that take the developer through a series of simple questions and then generate a skeleton application program that uses the SDK, that can be built and run immediately. The wizards are fully integrated into Microsoft Visual Studio Microsoft Visual Studio is Microsoft's flagship software development product for computer programmers. It centers on an integrated development environment which lets programmers create standalone applications, web sites, web applications, and web services that run on any platforms .NET 2003 and Microsoft Visual Studio 6, the most popular IDEs (integrated development environments) on PCs. By using Microsoft-provided wizards and the SDK's wizards, a developer can create a working Web-based optimization or simulation application in as little as 15 minutes -- as Frontline demonstrated before a live audience on April 17, 2005, at the INFORMS Conference on OR/MS Practice in Palm Springs. Object-Oriented API Offers Modeling Benefits Unlike other "callable library" optimizers that offer only a conventional API designed for procedural programming, the Solver Platform SDK offers both a conventional procedural API and a new, higher level, object-oriented API that simplifies and speeds application development. Where a procedural API typically requires lines of code The statements and instructions that a programmer writes when creating a program. One line of this "source code" may generate one machine instruction or several depending on the programming language. A line of code in assembly language is typically turned into one machine instruction. such as: lp = loadlp ("problem", 2, 3, -1, obj, rhs, sense, matbeg, matcnt, matind, matval, lb, ub, NULL, 2, 3, 6), Frontline's object-oriented API lets the developer work with "objects" such as a Problem, Solver, Model, Variable, and Function -- writing higher level statements such as problem.VarDecision.NonNegative non·neg·a·tive adj. Of, relating to, or being a quantity that is either positive or zero. Adj. 1. nonnegative - either positive or zero , problem.FcnConstraint.UpperBound = rhs, and problem.Solver.Optimize. Hence, developers can work in terms meaningful for their models and applications, gaining some of the benefits of higher level "algebraic" modeling languages, but without any of the performance and flexibility drawbacks of such languages. Deep Support for the Most Popular Development Platforms Unlike other optimization "callable libraries" that offer limited or no compatibility with platforms such as Microsoft .NET, COM and Java, the Solver Platform SDK offers broad and deep support for these platforms. The Solver Platform SDK incorporates a full-fledged .NET assembly, a COM server, a full set of Java classes, and even a full object-oriented API in MATLAB -- as well as its conventional, procedural API for multiple languages. In Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and Visual Studio 6, developers experience immediate benefits from the SDK's wizards and deep support for "IntelliSense" Help that literally helps write programming statements. Pricing and Licensing Simplifies Deployment of Corporate and ISV (Independent Software Vendor) A person or company that develops software. It implies an organization that specializes in software only and is not part of a computer systems or hardware manufacturer. Applications A single user development license for the Solver Platform SDK is just $1,495 in the United States and 1,725 euros and 1,145 pounds in Europe, plus 33% required first-year annual support which drops to 20% after the application is developed and deployed. Concurrent user development licenses are also available. Single user runtime licenses start at half the cost of development licenses; flexible concurrent use, capacity-based runtime licenses are also available. Runtime software license management and pricing -- often problematic with other "callable libraries" -- is simple and straightforward with the Solver Platform SDK. Frontline has developed special programs for both corporate developers -- who typically deploy applications "in-house" to their own people, and for ISVs (independent software vendors) -- who typically deploy applications externally to other firms, with a goal of easing the path to application deployment. Both Frontline-provided and ISV-provided license managers are supported by the SDK. Further details are available from Frontline Systems. About Frontline Systems Inc. Frontline Systems Inc. (www.solver.com) is the leader in spreadsheet optimization software that helps analysts and managers optimally allocate scarce resources -- money, equipment, and people -- to realize substantial cost savings. Frontline developed the solvers/optimizers in Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro, distributed to more than 100 million spreadsheet users. Founded in 1987, Frontline is headquartered in Incline Village, Nev. (775-831-0300), with a European sales and marketing subsidiary, Frontline Systems UK Ltd., in Bury St. Edmunds Bury St. Edmunds (bĕr' sənt ĕd`məndz), town (1991 pop. 30,563), Suffolk, E central England. It is the market and processing center for the surrounding rich farm region. , United Kingdom (01284 748035). |
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