Chapter 3 - Introduction To Linear Programming A
Chapter 3 - Introduction To Linear Programming A
Introduction to Linear
Programming
• Linear programming
– Programming means planning
– Model contains linear mathematical functions
• An application of linear programming
– Allocating limited resources among competing
activities in the best possible way
– Applies to wide variety of situations
• Standard form
• Feasible solution
– Solution for which all constraints are satisfied
– Might not exist for a given problem
• Infeasible solution
– Solution for which at least one constraint is
violated
• Optimal solution
– Has most favorable value of objective function
– Might not exist for a given problem
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The Linear Programming Model
• Proportionality assumption
– The contribution of each activity to the value
of the objective function (or left-hand side of a
functional constraint) is proportional to the
level of the activity
– If assumption does not hold, one must use
nonlinear programming (Chapter 13)
• Additivity
– Every function in a linear programming model
is the sum of the individual contributions of
the activities
• Divisibility
– Decision variables in a linear programming
model may have any values
• Including noninteger values
– Assumes activities can be run at fractional
values
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Assumptions of Linear Programming
• Certainty
– Value assigned to each parameter of a linear
programming model is assumed to be a
known constant
– Seldom satisfied precisely in real applications
• Sensitivity analysis used
• A type of cost-
benefit tradeoff
problem
• Decision variables
(for i = A, B, C; j = 1,2,3,4)
number of pounds of material j allocated to
product grade i per week