LP Assistant available in Java

LP Assistant is a Java-based application that assists students learning the simplex algorithm. It was successfully class-tested in MT435 Mathematical Programming last Fall semester at BC. It runs on any platform that supports the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition v1.4.2.

The educational design of LP Assistant continues and updates that of the earlier PRT Simplex program (now withdrawn), which was successfully used by hundreds of students over several years. LP Assistant will be officially released with An Introduction to Linear Programming and Game Theory, Third Edition, by Paul R. Thie and G. E. Keough, to be published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc., in July 2008.

The current development version (code release of December 13, 2007) is freely available for download as a Java Archive (.jar) file (~175K). Documentation (it's fairly complete, last updated December 8, 2008) is available both here online (~150K) and also is included with the Java Archive and viewable from within the program (see Help under Useful Aids). A newer release with only a few, minor feature upgrades should be available shortly.

LP Assistant remains under ongoing development. Updated versions will be posted via the link above. Always monitor the release date of the copy you download (shown directly in the Useful Aids menu) against the dates listed in this announcement.

Finally, code sources can be made available for upon request. Indeed, my hope is that the program be improved based on user feedback both at the feature and code levels. I encourage your contacting me about any aspect of the program.