Customer Reviews

Linear Programming and Extensions

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I disagree with the other reviewer. This is a textbook on linear programming and its extension written by George Dantzig the inventor of the simplex method. Even though the simplex method is still popular and useful there are other interesting algorithms that were dsicovered in the 1980s and 1990s that have theoretical and in some cases practical value.

In 1974 I was a graduate student in Operations Research ae Stanford and I took the three quarter mathematical programming course sequence. The first two quarters were taught by George Dantzig out of this book. George was a delightful person to talk to and probably a good thesis advisor and his stories about his graduate school days and the early years at RAND are delightful. However his lectures were disorganized and vague. I found it impossible to learn much from them and the book was not much help either as it too was vague, disjointed and not well organized. Better understanding of the basics of linear programming can be gotten from the fine general books on operations research such as the book by Hillier and Lieberman and the one by Wagner.

I do not know what is the best modern book on linear programming is. It should have good coverage of the simplex method and a lot of applications. Leontiff systems and other special structured programming problems that lead to modifications of the simplex method are covered in this book and should also be in the "ideal" linear progamming book. Integer programming and other special cases of problems with linear constraints should also be included along with alternative algorithms to the simplex method.

This book is more valuable for historic purposes, as it was Dantzig's first book and the first account of the simplex method by its inventor.

This softbound newly reprinted edition is clear and light; considering the original version I knew back in 1970's was a thick, heavy hardbound.

The book is a compilation of several authors on linear programming, it includes a table explaining the genesis of linear programming and the programming code for computer calculation.

It is a rich and indispensable book for optimization problems.