Optimization Tool

No inputs are required for the manual or file input modes. For the matrix input mode, inputs O and A are required (B and Q are optional).

• O: (Required for matrix input mode) Use this input to provide the names of the decision variables, their coefficients in the objective function, and optionally their bounds and types.

  • variable: (Required) a string, decision variable names. Corresponds to x in the equations.

  • coefficient: (Required) a number, coefficient of each decision variable in objective function. Corresponds to c.

  • lb: (Optional) a number, lower bound of the decision variable. The default value is 0.

  • ub: (Optional) a number, upper bound of the decision variable. The default value is Inf (positive infinity).

  • type: (Optional) a character, the type of the decision variable, which can be C (continuous), B (binary), or I (integer). The default value is C.

  Beginning with Alteryx 11.0, you can enable the Display field mapping for Input Anchor O option for more flexibility with field names.

• A: (Required for matrix input mode) Use this input to provide the constraint matrix corresponding to A in the equations. You can organize the matrix in two different ways:
  • Dense matrix:

    • Constraints in rows: Each row corresponds to a constraint. The first field can optionally be named constraint to indicate the constraint name in each row, while the remaining field names should correspond to the decision variables defined in O. Additionally, you can include the fields dir and rhs to roll the B input into this.

      Example

      If your constraint equations are: x + 2y + 3z <= 4 and x + y >= 1, the following are all legitimate input for input A:

      With constraint field:
      Without constraint field:
      Including dir and rhs:

    • Variables in rows: Each row corresponds to a variable. The first field should be named variable, while the remaining field names should correspond to the constraint names. Note that this corresponds to the transpose of the A matrix in the above equations.

      The order of variables for input O and input A should be the same.

      Example

      The following is a legitimate input for input A:

      

      Beginning with Alteryx 11.0, you can use other field names for “constraint” or “variable” and the Optimization tool will intelligently infer which field contains constraints and which field contains variables. However, Alteryx recommends that you follow the naming convention.

  • Sparse matrix: For larger constraint sets, you can specify the A matrix in its SLAM form. It consists of three required fields i, j, and v, where i and j are row and column indexes, respectively, and v is the non-zero value of the matrix element. Sparse matrix mode always assumes constraints in rows.

• B: (Required if not already provided in A) Use this input to provide the name, direction, and right hand side of the constraints.

  • constraint: (Optional) a string, name of the constraint.

  • dir: a string, direction of the constraint inequality. It has to be >=, <= or ==.

  • rhs: a number, the right hand side of the inequality, corresponding to b.

• Q: (Optional) Use this input to provide the quadratic portion of the objective function, for Quadratic Programming problems. It corresponds to Q in the equations. You can specify it as a dense matrix or as a sparse matrix.

  • Dense matrix: The field names should correspond to the decision variable names defined in O.

  • Sparse matrix: The field names are i, j, and v, where i and j are row and column indexes, respectively, and v is the non-zero value of the associated matrix element.