Get the Best of Both Worlds -- High Productivity Modeling with MATLAB®, Ultra High Performance Optimization and Simulation with Our Solver SDK!

If MATLAB® is a familiar or productive tool for you, then you've come to the right place for advanced optimization and simulation software!  Frontline's Solver Platform SDK makes our full suite of Solvers, for every type and size of optimization problem, and our powerful Monte Carlo simulation capabilities, available to you in MATLAB.  And you can use the same Solvers in your programs written in C#, F#, VB.NET, C++, Visual Basic and Java-- at no extra charge!

SDK Capabilities and APIs for MATLAB

The Solver Platform SDK runs as compiled code through the MEX-file interface, and features world-class performance -- often 10 to 100 times faster than the MATLAB Optimization Toolbox.  Frontline's Solver Engines "plug in" to the SDK and solve smooth nonlinear problems with tens of thousands of variables and constraints, and linear, quadratic and mixed-integer problems with hundreds of thousands of variables and constraints.

And the SDK features deep and broad support for MATLAB:  Its optimization and simulation power can be used via three different APIs:

  • MATLAB Object-Oriented API -- The SDK is the only MATLAB library for optimization and simulation that allows you to describe your model in a high-level way, using MATLAB's object-oriented features.
  • MATLAB Procedural API -- For users more accustomed to procedural programming, the SDK offers a complete Procedural API, with access to all the power of the Object-Oriented API.
  • MATLAB Optimization Toolbox API -- For users with existing MATLAB code written for the Optimization Toolbox, the SDK offers a compatible API with functions such as linprog, quadprog, fmincon and others.

The Solver Platform SDK currently supports MATLAB 7 for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows and for 32-bit and 64-bit Linux.  You can download a free trial version of the SDK for any of these platforms right now!

Solver Platform SDK - Overall Capabilities

Our "flagship" product for developers is the Solver Platform SDK.  It may well be all you need, because it can handle every type of optimization problem up to certain size limits:

  • Linear and quadratic programming problems up to 8,000 variables
  • Conic and mixed-integer programming problems up to 2,000 variables
  • Smooth nonlinear, global, and nonsmooth optimization problems up to 500 variables
  • And a powerful new Solver for Monte Carlo simulation applications!

Given the breadth and depth of its optimization capabilities alone, and its speed compared to the MATLAB Optimization Toolbox, the SDK would be a great product.  But there's much more!  Other "callable library" optimizers emphasize fast solution times, but they can be difficult to use for a developer who doesn't have a PhD in operations research.  In contrast, the Solver Platform SDK emphasizes ease of use and fast development times!  The SDK features:

  • A new object-oriented API that helps you work at a higher level -- closer to a modeling language than a programming language.
  • Deep support for .NET (VB.NET, F#, C#, and C++), COM (Visual Basic and C++), Java, as well as MATLAB.
  • Easy-to-use Wizards in Visual Studio .NET, Visual Basic and Visual C++ -- Answer a few questions, and create a working application in minutes!
  • IntelliSense -- Visual Studio shows you available choices and completes program statements for you as you type!
  • XML-based Balloon Help in Visual Studio .NET -- just hover your mouse over a program statement to get hints and assistance!

For Intranet, Web Server, or Web service applications, the Solver Platform SDK is ideal -- it's thread-safe, supporting multiple sessions concurrently; it's very high performance; and it offers Flexible Use Runtime licenses that don't require tracking of named users or client computers.  And it's easier than you think -- you can use the MATLAB development environment interactively, or use a programming language and Visual Studio-supplied Wizards with the SDK's Wizards to create a working Web server or Web service application in minutes!

Click here for more specific Solver Platform SDK Product Information.

Plug-in Solver Engines for Large-Scale Problems

If your problem is likely to exceed the size limits of the Solver Platform SDK for the type of optimization problem you want to solve, then you'll want to choose a Solver Engine that handles larger-scale problems of that specific type.  Our Solver Engines will take you far beyond the capabilities of the MATLAB Optimization Toolbox, to efficiently solve problems with hundreds of thousands of variables and constraints.

Even if your problem fits within the size limits of the Solver Platform SDK, you may find that you can obtain much faster solutions with one of our large-scale Solver Engines.  It makes sense to choose a Solver Engine that uses algorithms or methods most efficient for your type of problem, especially if the problem is larger size.

For more information on Solver Engines for specific types of optimization problems, click on one of the links below:

Note:  Every Frontline Systems Solver product will handle problems with integer variables, including variables subject to the "alldifferent" constraint.  If your problem involves many such variables, however, you may find much faster solutions using the Solver Engines found through the link "Integer and Constraint Programming Problems" above.

MATLAB® is a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc.

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