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Re: convex optimization problem
Posted:
Aug 27, 2012 8:33 AM
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On 8/24/2012 5:14 PM, kumar vishwajeet wrote:
> Alan_Weiss <aweiss@mathworks.com> wrote in message
> <k17tbp$k7a$1@newscl01ah.mathworks.com>...
>> On 8/24/2012 4:25 AM, kumar vishwajeet wrote:
>> > Hi,
>> > I have an objective function of the following type:
>> > J = x log(x/k) + cx Subject to : f1(x) = alpha and f2(x) = beta
>> > where alpha, beta, k and c are constants and x is a vector to be >
>> solved for. So, it is a convex function. Which is the best >
>> optimization routine in MATLAB to solve such problems. I'm currently
>> > using fmincon and it is slower than snail.
>> >
>> > Thanks.
>> This is a convex problem only with restrictions on the functions f1
>> and f2. I mean, there can be multiple local minima, depending on the
>> functions f1 and f2.
>>
>> But as far as your question goes, the only solver in the toolbox to
>> handle this type of problem is fmincon. If you are dissatisfied with
>> its speed, you might want to try some of the suggestions in
>> http://www.mathworks.com/help/toolbox/optim/ug/br44iv5-1.html#br44pif
>> You might also want to try various algorithms, such as sqp.
>>
>> Good luck,
>>
>> Alan Weiss
>> MATLAB mathematical toolbox documentation
>
>
> I'm sorry. The actual cost function is :
> J = summmation(i = 1:N) (x_i log(x_i/k_i) + c_i*x_i Subject to : x_i
> >= 0 and summation(i=1:N) (x_i) = 1
>
> where x_i and c_i are scalars.
> Is it a good idea to change the constraint "x_i >= 0" to "x_i >= eps",
> where eps is epsilon. I knew that x log x is not defined at x = 0. So
> I intentionally made x log x = 0 for x = 0. This is valid for maximum
> entropy problems.
When using the sqp or interior-point algorithms there is no need to set
x(i)>=eps; these algorithms obey bounds at all iterations, and your
extension of the definition to the boundary is fine.
http://www.mathworks.com/help/toolbox/optim/ug/brhkghv-11.html#br9p_ry
You might find that your problem runs faster if you provide gradients
and, for the interior point algorithm, even a Hessian. If you have
Symbolic Math Toolbox you can do this automatically:
http://www.mathworks.com/help/toolbox/optim/ug/brn4nh7.html#brv_i_1
But for your problem, it is easy enough to calculate the gradients by hand.
Good luck,
Alan Weiss
MATLAB mathematical toolbox documentation
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