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Features

The ILOG OPL Development Studio delivers the tools to create both well-tested and finely tuned optimization models and interactive decision-support applications. Advanced features help users develop complete optimization applications—without requiring detailed knowledge of computer programming.

Features include:

Natural representation of optimization problems
Compared to conventional programming languages, ILOG Optimization Programming Language (OPL) represents optimization problems descriptively, simplifying model development. ILOG OPL provides a rich toolkit to address a variety of problem types, allowing comparisons of alternative and hybrid solution methodologies.
Connections to spreadsheets and relational databases
ILOG OPL can import data and export solutions to databases or spreadsheets. A clean separation of the model from the data makes it easy to switch between test data files and production data sources.
An interactive development environment
The ILOG OPL integrated development environment (IDE) supports model development, data and parameter combinations testing, and results reviews. The implementation of ILOG OPL's "Run Configuration" concept allows users to evaluate different modeling approaches to a problem with the same data, and/or different data sets with a given model, and to experiment with different algorithmic control parameter settings that combine models, data and parameter settings into run configurations.

Run configurations: The same model with different data sets and/or different models and same data set.
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Examples of functionalities:

The dynamic help facility make it possible to search for help "on the fly":

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The local file history allows users to compare earlier versions of files, keeping track of the changes:

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While the comparison feature alows users to compare multiple files:

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An illustration of intelligent display and debugging:

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An illustration of team work and version control:

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An illustration of a pre-packaged concurrent versions system (CVS):

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Support for two optimization technologies
The ILOG OPL Development Studio is designed to support ILOG CPLEX—the world's leading MP-based optimization engine, as well as ILOG CP Optimizer, our next generation constraint programming engine for solving sequencing, resource allocation and timetabling problems that are difficult or impossible to solve with MP-based techniques.

ILOG OPL Development Studio allows users to develop single models in either technology or multi-model solutions that use either or both technologies. Interval-based scheduling support is available. It is based on the "model and run" concept: Robust search algorithms and automatic search parameter settings allow users to concentrate on modeling without being worried about the search itself.
An example of language constructs to support interval-based modeling of scheduling problems:

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An example of settings for automatic, robust search algorithms:

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A full-featured scripting language
ILOG Script is a full-featured JavaScript language for data pre-processing, solution post-processing, and algorithmic flow control. ILOG Script also makes it easy to solve complex problems by combining or sequencing related models.
Integrated application programming interfaces (APIs)
Models created by ILOG OPL Development Studio can be easily integrated into external applications written in Java, C++ or .NET, without having to rewrite the model in other programming languages.