At the request of the COIN-OR Foundation, we participated in the CBC Code Print event held at the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) on the University of Minneapolis campus from August 1st to 9th. Although the COIN-OR Foundation is dedicated to the creation and dissemination of knowledge on all aspects of computer research, this event aimed to bring together researchers and developers working in the field of research (Operational Research), and more specifically on the Cbc (Coin-or branch  cut) programming solver to contribute to its evolution. This was a very profitable week!

Improved Native interfaces

For the occasion, we decided to work on the development of two interfaces in order to further our exploration and advance our research:

  • The Native interface for Java (Java Native Interface), already in use in the PLANIMOD software, now works with all Cbc features, supports more platforms (including Windows 32 bits and Windows 64-bits) and facilitates user access to Cbc documentation.
  • The Native interface for Python, which we called the "cbcpy project," allows you to use Cbc directly from Python, gives you quick access to Cbc documentation, facilitates installation from PyPI without having to install Cbc and supports the following platforms:

Collaborating with eminent researchers

Attending the CBC Code Print event also provided us with access to the unparalleled skill and expertise from several international researchers, such as Ted Ralphs, Haroldo Gambini Santos, Gleb Belov and Matthew D. Saltzman. In addition to improving our knowledge of Cbc's development, collaborating with these researchers was a great source of inspiration for new challenges, including the use of operational research and a linear solver in the development of new software.

Check out our changes to cbcpy project.

2019-09-10
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