Solve mathematical models

Solves the optimization model associated with the multi-action conservation planning problem. This function is used to solve the mathematical model created by the problem() function.

solve(
  a,
  solver = "",
  gap_limit = 0,
  time_limit = .Machine$integer.max,
  solution_limit = FALSE,
  cores = 2,
  verbose = TRUE,
  name_output_file = "output",
  output_file = TRUE
)

Arguments

a: optimizationProblem object. Optimization model created for the problem of prioritization of multiple conservation actions. This object must be created using the problem() function.
solver: string. Name of solver to use to solve the model. The following solvers are supported: "gurobi"(requires the gurobi package), "cplex"(requires the Rcplex package), "cbc"(requires the rcbc package) and "symphony"(requires the Rsymphony package). We recommend using gurobi (for more information on how to obtain an academic license here).
gap_limit: numeric. Value between 0 and 1 that represents the gap to optimality, i.e., a relative number that cause the optimizer to terminate when the difference between the upper and lower objective function bounds is less than the gap times the upper bound. For example, a value of 0.01 will result in the optimizer stopping when the difference between the bounds is 1 percent of the upper bound. Default is 0.0.
time_limit: numeric. Time limit to run the optimizer (in seconds). The solver will return the current best solution when this time limit is exceeded. Default is the maximum integer number of your machine.
solution_limit: logical. Indicates if the solution process should be stopped after the first feasible solution is found (TRUE), or not (FALSE).
cores: integer. Number of parallel cores to use in the machine to solve the problem.
verbose: logical. Indicates if the solver information is displayed while solving the optimization model (TRUE), or if it is not displayed (FALSE).
name_output_file: string. Prefix of all output names.
output_file: logical. Indicates if the outputs are exported as .csv files (TRUE), or they are not exported (FALSE). Currently, 5 files are exported. The distribution of actions in the solution, the distribution of the selected planning units, the benefits achieved by the features, the parameters used, and the optimization engine log.

Value

An object of class solution.

Details

The solvers supported by the solve() function are described below.

Gurobi solver: Gurobi is a state-of-the-art commercial optimization software with an R package interface. It is by far the fastest of the solvers available in this package, however, also this solver is not freely available. That said, licenses are available to academics at no cost. The gurobi package is distributed with the Gurobi software suite. This solver uses the gurobi package to solve problems.
CPLEX solver: cplex is a state-of-the-art commercial optimization software with an R package interface. Like Gurobi, it is not freely accessible, but we can obtain academic licenses. We recommend using this solver if the Gurobi solver is not available. Licenses are available for the IBM CPLEX software to academics at no cost here. This solver uses the Rcplex package to solve problems.
CBC solver: CBC is an open-source mixed integer linear programming solver written in C++. It is part of the Computational Infrastructure for Operations Research (COIN-OR) project interface. rcbc package to solve problems is now available only on Github. Please ensure that you closely adhere to the detailed installation instructions provided here for proper setup.
Symphony solver: SYMPHONY is an open-source integer programming solver that is part of the Computational Infrastructure for Operations Research (COIN-OR) project, an initiative to promote development of open-source tools for operations research (a field that includes linear programming). The Rsymphony package provides an interface to COIN-OR and is available on CRAN. This solver uses the Rsymphony package to solve problems.

Examples

if (FALSE) {
## This example uses input files included into package.

## Load data
data(sim_pu_data, sim_features_data, sim_dist_features_data,
sim_threats_data, sim_dist_threats_data, sim_sensitivity_data,
sim_boundary_data)

## Create data instance
problem_data <- inputData(
  pu = sim_pu_data, features = sim_features_data, dist_features = sim_dist_features_data,
  threats = sim_threats_data, dist_threats = sim_dist_threats_data,
  sensitivity = sim_sensitivity_data, boundary = sim_boundary_data
)

## Create optimization model
problem_model <- problem(x = problem_data, blm = 1)

## Solve the optimization model using a gap_limit and gurobi solver
## NOTE: The Gurobi solver must be previously installed and must have a valid license!
s1 <- solve(a = problem_model, solver = "gurobi", gap_limit = 0.01, output_file = FALSE, cores = 2)

print(s1)

## Solve the optimization model using a gap_limit and symphony solver
s2 <- solve(a = problem_model,
            solver = "symphony",
            gap_limit = 0.01,
            output_file = FALSE,
            cores = 2)

print(s2)

## Solve the optimization model using a time_limit and gurobi solver
s3 <- solve(a = problem_model, solver = "gurobi", time_limit = 10, output_file = FALSE, cores = 2)

print(s3)
}

Arguments

Value

Details

See also

Examples