---------------------------------------------------------- README for AMPL Plus Student Edition 1.6 August, 1999 ---------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) ILOG Inc., 1999 This document provides complementary or late-breaking information to supplement the help file and user manual. ========================================================== Contents: ========================================================== - Installation Instructions - Changes From Previous Versions - Limitations - Installation Details ========================================================== ========================================================== Installation Instructions ========================================================== If your computer is setup to automatically run a CD when inserted and you have received this on CD, just insert the disk to begin setup. Otherwise, locate and run setup.exe. If you have a commercial version of AMPL Plus or AMPL, this installation will not affect the existing installations if they are installed in different locations. However, only one instance of AMPL Plus can run on Windows NT at any one time. For more information please see Installation Details (below). ========================================================== ========================================================== Changes From Previous Versions ========================================================== ----------------------- Version 1.6 ----------------------- - AMPL engine is now at version 19991027. - WAMPL32.exe is now a separate process layered between AMPLPlus.exe and ampl.exe. This makes it possible to update the ampl engine for AMPL Plus simply by installing a newer version of ampl.exe, the standard ampl binary available on netlib. It must reside in the current directory or anywhere on the system path. It is installed into the current directory with AMPL Plus, ignoring any existing copies of ampl elsewhere on the system. Note that it cannot be guaranteed that all future versions of ampl will work with AMPL Plus. When in doubt, use only the version that was distributed with your current version of AMPL Plus. - When the solve command comes from a run file or the Command window of AMPL Plus, the solver is invoked by wampl32.exe instead of directly by AMPL. This enhances the reliability of the program. - If a model or data file is too large for AMPL Plus to display, the user is notified that the window displaying it is read only. The model or data file can still be processed by AMPL as usual. This removes another restriction from users of AMPL Plus with large models. - The CPLEX solver option dialogs have been modified for CPLEX version 6.5. This should make it easier for users to take advantage of the new features of CPLEX and significantly improve solution times. - When trying to save files that are read-only or otherwise cannot be written, the user is now notified. This makes the interface friendlier in the rare instances where this could happen. - A number of AMPL and CPLEX option defaults have been updated to newer values. - AMPLPLUS.TXT (this file) is displayed when you start AMPL Plus after the installation. - Added long file name Support for AMPL Plus projects. Note that the Edit Project dialog has been widened to help with this. However, you may sometimes need to use the file type selector beneath the left file list box to limit the list for easier browsing. - The solver status popup is now under user control. If you want the Commands window or other window to retain focus during a solve, just un-check the menu item, "View" | "Solver Status Popup." - Query display precision is now controlled from the menus. Select Options | AMPL | Display... Then set the value of "Digits of precision in data query windows" to control this setting. - AMPL's quit, exit, and shell commands are now "trapped" by AMPL Plus. They now have no effect. NOTE: This is not the case when ampl is processing .run files (ampl scripts). A quit or exit command in a run file will hang the application. - Improved performance because it and the solvers are now pure 32-bit processes. ========================================================== ========================================================== Limitations ========================================================== 1. ILOG, Inc. does not offer support for the Student Edition of AMPL Plus. For assistance, please refer to the AMPL Book or the AMPL web site: http://www.ampl.com/ampl 2. This program will not run after December 31, 2001. ILOG wants to ensure that you have the latest version. Newer versions of this software may be made available periodically. ILOG will see to it that a newer version becomes available before this one expires. Please go to the AMPL web site to get a newer version: http://www.ampl.com/ampl 3. Symbolic parameters cannot be viewed using the data button in the Model window. Please use the AMPL "display" command through the Commands window instead. 4. Multiple instances of AMPL Plus cannot be run on the same Windows NT machine. 5. As in the previous version, the AMPL commands, shell, quit, and exit are not supported in AMPL Plus 1.6. However, it is possible to embed them in a run file. Doing so will hang the application because it kills the background ampl engine. 6. Only limited ODBC functionality is available in the Student Edition. It enables browsing of data from the Model window. Beyond that, this version is not intended to work with ODBC data sources. Please refer to ODBC in the AMPL Plus Student Edition help file (AMPL.HLP) for more information. 7. Dialogs for controlling the MINOS options are not available. Please enter MINOS options through the Commands window as described in the AMPL Book. 8. The MINOS solver for AMPL Plus has no capability of writing output to the screen during processing. This has several implications: 1. Valid MINOS options are not echoed in the AMPL Plus Commands window. 2. Summary output is not available from MINOS. 3. MINOS error messages are not displayed. Logging can be sent to a disk file for viewing after the solve is complete. Users who want to view output during the solve can download the latest minos solver for ampl (command line version) from netlib: ftp://netlib.bell-labs.com/netlib/ampl/student/mswin/minos.exe.gz Then solve the problem using the command line versions of AMPL (ampl.exe) and MINOS (minos.exe). Certain MINOS options intended to produce screen output while the solver is working do not function in AMPL Plus as they do in the command line version. The following MINOS options are ignored by the MINOS solver for AMPL Plus: Summary_file=6 Print_file=6 outlev > 2 ========================================================== ========================================================== Installation Details ========================================================== 1. Windows 95 and 98 systems sometimes run out of environment space. This problem can cause AMPL Plus to "ignore" your option settings. If that appears to be happening, please restart your computer and watch the black screens for a message like this one: "out of environment space" If you see such a message, you can expand the environment space by adding the following line to the end of the c:\config.sys file: SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /E:8192 /P The meanings of the arguments are as follows: - "C:\COMMAND.COM" is the location of the command processor for your system. - /E:8192 specifies that 8192 bytes should be set aside to store environment variables. The default value is 256 bytes. 2. Files installed or created by this installation. Program files are installed into the directory you select during setup. Except where noted, these files are installed without regard for version checking. If you install over existing copies, they will be replaced. ampfix.exe Used by setup to configure project files. Can be removed if not deleted by installation program. ampl.cnt Help file contents. ampl.exe AMPL processor. (Runs in the background.) Ampl.exe is installed only if its date is the same or newer than the existing copy, if any. ampl.hlp AMPL Plus help file. ampl.ini AMPL Plus initialization file. Used to display amplplus.txt on first startup. ampl32.dll Application extension - supports AMPL Plus. amplfunc.dll Sample library of user-defined functions. Amplfunc.dll is installed only if its date is the same or newer than the existing copy, if any. AMPLPlus.exe Main executable program. cplex65.dll Application extension - supports CPLEX solver for AMPL Plus. cpxcms32.dll CPLEX solver for AMPL Plus. cpxlic65.dll Used by CPLEX solver for automatic licensing. cpxlicen.exe CPLEX license manager. exhelp32.exe Auxiliary file used by ampl.exe Exhelp32.exe is installed only if its date is the same or newer than the existing copy, if any. install.log Log file created by installation program. Used for minos32.dll MINOS solver for AMPL Plus. msvcrt10.dll Application extension - supports AMPL Plus. readme.txt This file. solve.run Default run file (used for projects with output queries. wampl32.exe Connects AMPL Plus to AMPL. (Runs in the background.) xnt320.dll Application extension - supports AMPL Plus. xnt320te.dll Application extension - supports AMPL Plus. AMPL Plus Example Files in AMPL Plus directory: dieti.amp steel.amp steelans.dat dieti.dat steel.dat dieti.mod steel.mod Sub-directories containing AMPL examples: compass: A collection of AMPL models from a variety of applications in finance, investment, logistics, transportation, and more. models: A collection of AMPL models used as illustrative examples in the text - AMPL: A Modeling Language For Mathematical Programming, by Fourer, Gay & Kernighan (ISBN 0-89426-232-7). looping: Models illustrating the control flow capabilities of AMPL. System files are installed with version checking. The installation program reads the internal version number of the DLL to be installed and compares that to the same value for the file to be replaced (if it exists). The newer version is kept or copied. If they are the same, the existing file is replaced. For files without internal version information, the file dates and times are used. 12520437.cpx msvcrt.dll odbcji32.dll 12520850.cpx msvcrt20.dll odbcjt32.dll _unodbc.dll msvcrt40.dll odbcjtnw.cnt _unodbc.log odbc16gt.dll odbcjtnw.hlp asycfilt.dll odbc32.dll odbctl32.dll ds16gt.dll odbc32gt.dll odbctrac.dll ds32gt.dll odbcad32.exe odtext32.dll inetwh32.dll odbccp32.cpl ole32.dll mfc42.dll odbccp32.dll oleaut32.dll mscpxl32.dll odbccr32.dll olepro32.dll msjint35.dll odbcinst.cnt roboex32.dll msjter35.dll odbcinst.hlp stdole2.tlb msrd2x35.dll odbcint.dll vb5db.dll msrepl35.dll odbcjet.cnt vbajet32.dll mstext35.dll odbcjet.hlp vbar332.dll 3. During normal operation, AMPL and AMPL Plus create and delete temporary files. The following list describes the purpose of each file type: .nl - AMPL problem file. This is generated by the ampl processor (ampl.exe) to be read and solved by the solver (e.g., cpxcms32.dll). .sol - AMPL solution file. This is generated by the solver to be read by ampl. .env - Environment settings file. This is sometimes generated by ampl to be read by the solver. It contains a snapshot of the environment settings in ampl at the time the solve command was processed. All of these files are intended to be temporary. The program should delete these when it has finished with them. Occasionally, situations arise that leave these files on your system. Unless you explicitly generate them yourself there is no need to leave them on your system. ==========================================================