[Ipopt] Best and free way of interacting with IPOPT on Linux

[Stefan Vigerske]

Hi,

there seem to be no response to this mail yet.

> I am new to IPOPT, and I would like to use it on Linux. What is the
> best (and free) way of interacting with IPOPT. I am using Fedora 8.

As far as I know, there are several interfaces available:
- C, C++, Fortran
- Java
- Matlab
- AMPL, GAMS

C++ is probably the way where you have most control about Ipopt, but it 
is also error-prone in the implementation of derivatives (if you do it, 
use the derivate checker option in Ipopt). I have never used the C or 
Fortran interfaces.
Also the Java and Matlab interfaces I have never tried, but they also 
require you to implement derivative evaluation methods. It might also be 
that the communication between the Java or Matlab world on the one side 
and the C++ world on the Ipopt side has an impact on the efficiency.
With the AMPL and GAMS interfaces specification of the model is more 
convenient, but they might not fit into the "free" category. Even though 
the interfaces are for free, the compiler for the algebraic model to an 
instance that the interface can understand is not free for larger 
models. Note that Ipopt is also included the GAMS distribution.

Best,
Stefan