optimization models in excel solver examples

Optimization models in excel solver examples install#
Optimization models in excel solver examples software#
Optimization models in excel solver examples professional#

If you want to transfer your work to another computer, all you have to do is to copy your Excel workbook. Your Excel workbook is all you have to take care of: no external data files, no additional libraries, etc. You have your input data, the code, all calculation results and the visualizations / the dashboard in one single file and application. Microsoft Excel provides an all-in-one solution. Although there are some things one could wish for, the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) is already a rather convenient environment for developing code. Moreover Excel’s macro recorder can give you a smooth start into creating and understanding VBA code. There are tons of websites, blogs and forums on the internet where you can find answers to almost every question you may have.

VBA is as easy (or hard) to learn as any other programming languages. Simply open Microsoft Excel and start developing.

Optimization models in excel solver examples install#

You don’t have to select, install and learn other applications or programming environments and languages. You have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer, don’t you? And you are familiar with using it, aren’t you? Well, then you are ready to go.

A ready-to-use and familiar environment.

Today’s post discusses this question, including the pros and cons as well as the possible use cases.Įvery version of Microsoft Excel comes with a feature providing algorithms to solve linear and non-linear problems (the Simplex-algorithm and the Generalized Reduced Gradient Method): The Solver add-in.īut what if you want to solve other combinatorial problems using other algorithms and heuristics? Is Microsoft Excel a viable platform for this as well? Thus, the question whether Microsoft Excel is an appropriate option for developing optimization models and algorithms for complex combinatorial problems suggests itself.

Optimization models in excel solver examples professional#

Having said this, it is definitely appropriate to always question in advance whether the tool you are intending to use is the right one for the task you are facing.īesides financial planning, simulation models, visualization and project management, optimization models and algorithms always played an important role in my professional life. You tend to see every problem as a nail.” Most of those workbooks reminded me of the following quote by Abraham Maslow (The Psychology of Science, 1966):

Optimization models in excel solver examples software#

I have seen people misusing Microsoft Excel as a word processor, a database, a project planning software or a graphical application. The fact that it seems as if you could do anything with Microsoft Excel does not mean you should. Sometimes this flexibility is boon and bane. Excel does the math, imports, stores and exports data, creates visualizations, provides a predefined tabular structure, includes a built-in programming language, etc. The most exciting thing about Excel, however, is its apparently unlimited flexibility. Excel is widely spread in corporate environments and most people are familiar with using it to a greater or lesser extent.

Whenever it comes to implement business calculation models, probably everyone immediately considers using Microsoft Excel. Is Microsoft Excel (including VBA) a viable platform for the development of complex mathematical optimization models and algorithms?