A Generalized Model Management System for Mathematical Programming

Abstract

This paper examines mathematical programming software in the context of model management and decision support. The concept of a model management system (MMS) is introduced and compared to traditional modeling systems. An MMS is seen as a much more generalized software system that requires the confluence of existing operations research, database management, and artificial intelligence techniques. By incorporating powerful, abstraction-based representation structures, an MMS can support multiple levels of model abstraction, only one of which corresponds to traditional, solution-oriented modeling software. The database structures required to implement a knowledge-based MMS are discussed and a prototype system for mathematical programming, the Generalized eXperimental Math Programming system (GXMP), is described. An algebraic language developed for use in GXMP is described in detail. © 1986, ACM. All rights reserved.