CUTE

TLDR

The facilities were originally developed with LANCELOT but are now available as a standalone resource for optimization software developers, with a Unix/C shell bias in the descriptions. The article aims to describe the scope and functionality of a versatile environment for testing nonlinear optimization algorithms and to provide tools that bridge the SIF input format with other optimization packages. The environment’s tools, obtainable via anonymous FTP and installable automatically, include an interface between SIF and other packages and a database system for classifying problems. The collection comprises a major set of test problems in SIF format, linked to packages such as MINOS and OSL, and the authors expect users to be comfortable with Unix.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to discuss the scope and functionality of a versatile environment for testing small- and large-scale nonlinear optimization algorithms. Although many of these facilities were originally produced by the authors in conjunction with the software package LANCELOT, we believe that they will be useful in their own right and should be available to researchers for their development of optimization software. The tools can be obtained by anonymous ftp from a number of sources and may, in many cases, be installed automatically. The scope of a major collection of test problems written in the standard input format (SIF) used by the LANCELOT software package is described. Recognizing that most software was not written with the SIF in mind, we provide tools to assist in building an interface between this input format and other optimization packages. These tools provide a link between the SIF and a number of existing packages, including MINOS and OSL. Additionally, as each problem includes a specific classification that is designed to be useful in identifying particular classes of problems, facilities are provided to build and manage a database of this information. There is a Unix and C shell bias to many of the descriptions in the article, since, for the sake of simplicity, we do not illustrate everything in its fullest generality. We trust that the majority of potential users are sufficiently familiar with Unix that these examples will not lead to undue confusion.