MIPLIB 2017: Data-Driven Compilation of the 6th Mixed-Integer Programming Library

We report on the selection process leading to the sixth version of the Mixed Integer Programming Library. Selected from an initial pool of 5,721 instances, the new MIPLIB 2017 collection consists of 1,065 instances. A subset of 240 instances was specially selected for benchmarking solver performance. For the first time, these sets were compiled using … Read more

Shaping and Trimming Branch-and-bound Trees

We present a new branch-and-bound type search method for mixed integer linear optimization problems based on the concept of offshoots (introduced in this paper). While similar to a classic branch-and-bound method, it allows for changing the order of the variables in a dive (shaping) and removing unnecessary branching variables from a dive (trimming). The regular … Read more

New symmetries in mixed-integer linear optimization

We present two novel applications of symmetries for mixed-integer linear programming. First we propose two variants of a new heuristic to improve the objective value of a feasible solution using symmetries. These heuristics can use either the actual permutations or the orbits of the variables to find better feasible solutions. Then we introduce a new … Read more

Separation of Mixing Inequalities in a Mixed Integer Programming Solver

This paper shows how valid inequalities based on the mixing set can be used in a mixed integer programming (MIP) solver. It discusses the relation of mixing inequalities to flow path and mixed integer rounding in- equalities and how currently used separation algorithms already generate cuts implicitly that can be seen as mixing cuts. Further … Read more