Free (or nearly-free) software for OR
This page is not actively maintained and has only occasionally been updated since 2005 when it was compiled by
Alistair Clark
to whom suggestions &
corrections can still be emailed.
Data Envelopment Analysis
Frontier Analyst for performance measurement (Free demo/student version)
EMS - Efficiency
Measurement System,
Forecasting
Neural networks forecasting (regression & classification), including public domain software, and open source codes. Free CD with source codes & demos of commercial software.
General OR
JavaScript E-labs learning objects for decision making.
OR methods web-interface (open-source under the GPL license).
OR Web-Enhanced
Courses.
Mathematical Programming
AMPL
- a mathematical
programming language with the Cplex and Minos solvers
(free student version for not-large problems).
AIMMS
- a mathematical
programming language and modelling system (free fully-functional academic license (including CPLEX and GUROBI), free restricted student license (also containing the solvers), and a free time-limited trial license.
GLPK
- Gnu LP kit, for solving linear programmes and mixed integer programmes.
HOPDM for solving large scale linear, convex quadratic and convex nonlinear programming problems.
Lindo for mathematical
programming modelling & optimisation (free student download).
Xpress-IVE
-
mathematical programming
language and solver.
(Free student version).
Symphony - Branch Cut and
Price Software
Open Solver Interface (OSI)
is a uniform API (Application Program Interface) for calling math programming
solvers
CLP - LP code (callable
library of primal and dual
Simplex solvers, and a
barrier method)
CBC - Branch-and-Cut code (flexible callable
library that works with any
OSI capable solver. in
particular CLP)
CGL - Cut Generator library (includes some standard cuts, requires
an OSI capable solver such as CLP)
DFO (a Fortran
package for solving small-scale general nonlinear optimization problems with
non-differentiable objective functions that are costly to evaluate)
DYLP (dynamic
simplex algorithm flexible research code that continuously modifies the active
constraint system)
IPOPT - Interior Point OPTimizer (implements an interior point algorithm
for nonlinear, nonconvex, constrained optimization problems.)
NLPAPI - Nonlinear
Programming API (a subroutine interface for defining and solving nonlinear
programming problems)
Metaheuristics
Stochastic Local Search implementations and codes.
Ant Colony Optimization public software.
OTS - Tabu Search optimizer
Multi-Criteria Decision Making
DISC and
PPP.
VIP
(Variable Interdependent Parameters) Analysis.
Queues
QtsPlus (Excel-based).
QtsPlus4Calc (Calc
OpenOffice version of QtsPlus).
Soft OR
Compendium
for collective sense-making and group memory.
Decision Explorer for ideas mapping & strategy) (Free demo/student version).
STRAD (Statregic Choice approach for developmental decision making) £120 reduced price for academic users in developing countries
Simulation
Simul8
simulation software, available at very low cost to poorer countries and for free
to appropriate PhD students.
Spreadsheets
Calc
Open Office spreadsheet (Windows & Linux). See also
Porting Excel-VBA to
Calc
and some
sample code.
Linux’s Gnumeric
and KSpread spreadsheets.
Others
Google Scholar
to search specifically for scholarly literature, including papers, theses,
books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports.
Borland’s free
command-line
C++
Compiler v5.5 (Windows).
G95 free Fortran compiler.