Xpress-MP overview
Xpress-MP is a suite of mathematical modeling and optimization tools used to solve linear, integer, quadratic, non-linear, and stochastic programming problems. Xpress-MP customers include:
- OEMs/ISVs who embed optimization functionality within their own products
- Consultants who offer optimization solutions to their clients
- Business analysts and other end-users within large organizations who solve their own optimization problems directly
The Xpress-MP suite is available on all common computer platforms and in different capacities for solving problems of various sizes. The products support a range of user/software interfaces including callable library APIs in C, C++, VB, Java, .NET and standalone command line interfaces. See here for more details.
Below we describe the different products of the Xpress-MP suite that enable it to be used in such a diverse range of applications.
Solver engines
The Xpress-Optimizer features optimization algorithms which enable you to solve linear programming problems (LP), mixed integer programming problems (MIP), quadratic programming problems (QP) and mixed integer quadratic programming problems (MIQP).
Xpress-SLP is a solver for non-linear programming problems (NLP) and mixed integer non-linear programming problems (MINLP). It uses successive linear approximation which has been developed from techniques used in the process industries and it is capable of solving large problems with many thousands of variables.
Xpress-SP is a Stochastic Programming tool for solving optimization problems involving uncertainty. Xpress-SP can be used to model and solve problems occuring in Supply Chain Management, Energy, Finance, Transportation, etc., by building uncertainty into the optimization problem in order to hedge against future variability
Xpress-Kalis is Constraint Programming software based upon the Kalis solver by Artelys. It specializes on discrete combinatorial problems as they frequently occur, for instance, in scheduling and planning problems.
Model building and development tools
Xpress-Mosel allows you to formulate your problem, solve it using one or several of the Xpress solver engines, and analyze the solution, using a fully-functional compiled programming language specifically designed for the purpose.
The Xpress-Mosel environment comprises the Mosel language with its debugger; modules and I/O drivers for accessing other software components and external data sources directly in this language; libraries for embedding models into applications; and an open interface for user-written extensions to the Mosel language.
Xpress-BCL is an object-oriented library for building, solving, and analyzing problems directly within an application.
Xpress-IVE is a complete visual development environment for Xpress-Mosel under Windows. It incorporates a Mosel program editor, compiler and execution environment.
Xpress-Application Developer (XAD) extends Xpress-Mosel with an API for graphical user interface development, turning Mosel into a modeling and programming language for complete optimization application development from the mathematical representation of the problem to developing the user interface.
Additional tools
For Xpress-Mosel: the ODBC I/O driver and module mmodbc enable the user to work with databases and spreadsheets as external data sources.