[OS] Optimization Services (OS) Project Release 1.0.0

[Jun Ma]

Release 1.0.0  of the Optimization Services (OS) COIN-OR project is now
available for download.  See  https://projects.coin-or.org/OS.

The objective of Optimization Services (OS) is to provide a general
framework consisting of a set of standards for representing optimization
instances, results, solver options, and communication between clients
and solvers in a distributed environment using Web Services. This
COIN-OR project provides source code for libraries and executable
programs that implement OS standards.  The OS project provides the
following:

1.  A set of XML based standards for representing optimization instances
(OSiL), optimization results (OSrL), and optimization solver options
(OSoL). There are other standards, but these are the main ones.

2.  A robust solver and modeling language interface (API) for linear and
nonlinear optimization problems.  Corresponding to the OSiL problem
instance representation there is an in-memory object,  OSInstance, along
with a set of get(),  set(), and calculate() methods for accessing and
creating problem instances. This is a very general API for linear,
integer, and nonlinear programs. Extensions for other major types of
optimization problems are also in the works. Any modeling language that
can produce OSiL can easily communicate with any solver that uses the
OSInstance API.

3.  A  command line executable OSSolverService  for reading problem
instances (OSiL format, AMPL  nl format,  MPS format) and calling a
solver either locally or on a remote server.

4. Utilities that convert AMPL nl files into the OSiL XML format and MPS
files into the OSiL XML format.

5.  Standards that facilitate the communication between clients and
optimization solvers using Web Services.

6.  An executable program  amplClient that is designed to work with the
AMPL modeling language. The  amplClient appears as a ``solver''  to AMPL
and, based on options given in AMPL, contacts solvers either remotely or
locally to solve instances created in AMPL.

7.  Server software that works with Apache Tomcat and Apache Axis.
This software uses Web Services technology and acts as middleware
between the client that creates the instance, and solver on the server
that optimizes the instance and returns the result.

The OS libraries and executables have been compiled and built on
GNU/Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.  Using the OS interface we have tested
the following solvers:  Cbc, Clp, Cplex, DyLP, Glpk, Ipopt, Knitro,
Lindo, SYMPHONY, and Vol.

Extensive documentation is available at the Web site.

The Optimization Services project will be presented in the session SC29,
"New COIN-OR Projects" on Sunday, November 4 from 1:30-3:00 pm  at the
Seattle INFORMS meeting. There is also a related session SD29,
"Optimization Services and Third Party Software," on November 4 from
4:30 until 6:00 pm.

Thank you,

Robert Fourer
Jun Ma
Kipp Martin
Wayne Sheng




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