Oh, I also applied lots of linear and integer programming.
The main benefit of something like integer programming is that you get a clear separation of the specification of your solution and the algorithm that computes it.
When even smart people naively attack any kind of optimization (or selection) problem, the resulting approach often mixes the business logic for specifying the optimum solution and the code for finding that optimum.
That makes any change in business requirements very hard to implement.
The main benefit of something like integer programming is that you get a clear separation of the specification of your solution and the algorithm that computes it.
When even smart people naively attack any kind of optimization (or selection) problem, the resulting approach often mixes the business logic for specifying the optimum solution and the code for finding that optimum.
That makes any change in business requirements very hard to implement.