Today’s businesses must make increasingly complex decisions. Rather than leaving these decisions to chance, intuition, or outdated methods simply because “that’s the way it’s always been done,” organizations are increasingly turning to more sophisticated solutions, like mathematical optimization.  

This is where a linear programming solver becomes indispensable. These solvers help organizations optimize operations, reduce costs, and make the best possible decisions given a set of constraints, or business rules. 

What Is a Linear Programming Solver?

A linear programming solver is a computational tool that solves optimization problems in which the variables are continuous (meaning they can take any value within a given range, and do not need to be discrete values, such as 1, 2, 3, etc.), and have linear relationships with the outcomes and constraints.  

Linear programming (LP) solvers are often used in industries like logistics, manufacturing, energy, and finance to find the most efficient solutions to resource allocation, scheduling, and planning challenges.  

How Linear Programming Solvers Work

The value of a linear programming solver lies in its ability to navigate large solution spaces to find the optimal solution (or solutions) quickly.  

Techniques like the simplex method and interior-point algorithms are used to explore feasible solutions. An LP solver like Gurobi enhances this process with advanced parallelization and cutting-edge presolve technology, making it one of the fastest solvers available. 

Real-World Applications of Linear Programming Solvers

Companies across industries leverage linear programming solvers for applications such as supply chain optimization, workforce scheduling, portfolio management, and network design.  

Gurobi’s solver stands out for its ability to handle large-scale models with millions of variables and constraints, enabling organizations to solve real-world problems efficiently. You can explore more examples of industry applications by checking out our case studies  

Leveraging a linear programming solver like Gurobi’s can significantly improve decision-making speed and accuracy, helping organizations cut costs, maximize efficiency, and gain a competitive edge.  

However, there are also several open-source options that are available at no cost. These solutions are often great for those looking to get started with optimization quickly, with limited budget or resources. You can learn more about open-source solvers and how they compare to Gurobi in this article. 

Why Gurobi’s Solver Leads the Industry

Gurobi’s linear programming solver is recognized for its exceptional speed, scalability, and reliability. It’s compatible with popular programming languages like Python, C++, and Java, and supports high-performance computing environments.  

However, Gurobi isn’t just a linear programming solver. It can also solve a wide range of optimization problems, including: 

  • Mixed-integer nonlinear programming problems 
  • Mixed-integer quadratic programming problems 
  • Mixed-integer quadratically-constrained programming problems  

Whether you’re a developer, analyst, or researcher, Gurobi provides a powerful toolkit for building and solving complex optimization models. Learn more about the Gurobi Optimizer. 

Getting Started with Gurobi’s Linear Programming Solver

If you’re ready to explore how a linear programming solver can benefit your organization, Gurobi makes it easy to start. We offer a free evaluation license, detailed documentation, and expert support to guide you every step of the way.  

Additionally, with Gurobi’s intuitive APIs and extensive learning resources, users can get up and running quickly. 

Driving Smarter Decisions with Optimization

A linear programming solver is not just a mathematical tool—it’s a driver of smarter, faster, and more efficient decisions. To learn more about Gurobi’s solving capabilities, request a free evaluation today. 

Guidance for Your Journey

30 Day Free Trial for Commercial Users

Start solving your most complex challenges, with the world's fastest, most feature-rich solver.

Always Free for Academics

We make it easy for students, faculty, and researchers to work with mathematical optimization.

Try Gurobi for Free

Choose the evaluation license that fits you best, and start working with our Expert Team for technical guidance and support.

Evaluation License
Get a free, full-featured license of the Gurobi Optimizer to experience the performance, support, benchmarking and tuning services we provide as part of our product offering.
Cloud Trial

Request free trial hours, so you can see how quickly and easily a model can be solved on the cloud.

Academic License
Gurobi provides free, full-featured licenses for coursework, teaching, and research at degree-granting academic institutions. Academics can receive guidance and support through our Community Forum.

Search

Gurobi Optimization

Navigation Menu