Operations Research: An Introduction
- Book Review,
by Hamdy A. Taha
From Book News, Inc.
This textbook introduces deterministic models, probabilistic models, and nonlinear models of decision making and problem solving. Example applications of the Tora, Excel, Lingo, and Ampl programs are integrated throughout the book. The seventh edition adds sections on the generalized simplex method, PERT networks, and solution of the traveling salesperson problem.Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR
The publisher, Prentice-Hall Engineering/Science/Mathematics
Major revision is designed to meet the needs of beginning through advanced students with an emphasis placed on the formulation and applications aspects. Provides balanced coverage of theory, applications and computations of operations research techniques. Numerical examples are main vehicle for explaining new ideas with each numeric example followed by a set of problems. TORA and SIMNET software included in text. More than 1,000 problems.
From the Back Cover
This seventh edition continues to build on the strength of the first six editions, providing balanced coverage of the theory, applications, and computations of operations research. Complex mathematical concepts are effectively explained by means of carefully designed numerical examples, essentially eliminating the need for the usually obscure formal mathematical proofs. The book includes fully analyzed practical situations and each chapter concludes with summary applications borrowed from published case studies. The role of modern computational tools in enhancing the effectiveness of operations research as a decision-making tool receives considerable attention in this new edition. New for the Seventh Edition: Practically every algorithm in the book is now supported and explained by an appropriate software tool, greatly facilitating the process of explaining concepts that otherwise would be difficult, if not impossible, to demonstrate. The powerful Windows®-based TORA software offers new and unique tutorial features, ranging from animated graphical LP solution to dynamic construction of CPM time charts and generation of branch-and-bound search trees. For the first time, Excel® templates are designed to solve general problems in dynamic programming, inventory problems, and the analytic hierarchy approach, simply by changing the input data in the template. Excel® Solver is used to solve transportation, network, and linear and nonlinear programming problems. Commercial AMPL® and LINGO® packages are used to show how very large linear and integer programs are solved in practice. Chapters 1 through 14, 17, and 18 have been streamlined to eliminate ambiguity and redundancy in the presentation of the material. New material includes a new introduction to operations research, the generalized simplex method, representation of all network models, including CPM, as linear programs, PERT networks,solution of the traveling salesperson problem, and the golden section method. Numerous new problems have been added in many chapters. Appendix D provides complete solutions to selected chapter problems. Software Support: Easy-to-use menu-driven TORA optimization system. Over 20 general and ready-to-use Excel® spreadsheet templates. Several Excel® Solver templates. Example applications of the commercial packages AMPL® and LINGO®.
About the Author
Hamdy A. Taha is a University Professor of Industrial Engineering with the University of Arkansas, where he teaches and conducts research in operations research and simulation. He is the author of three other books on integer programming and simulation, and his works have been translated into Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Turkish, and Indonesian. He is also the author of several book chapters. His articles have appeared in Management Science, Operations Research, and Interfaces Institute for Operations Research and Management Science, Naval Research Logistics John Wiley & Sons, the European Journal of Operations Research International Federation of Operations Research Societies and the AIIE Transactions. Professor Taha was named a Senior Fulbright Scholar to Carlos III University, Madrid, Spain. He received an Alumni Award for excellence in research and The Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award, both from the University of Arkansas, and numerous other research and teaching awards from the College of Engineering, University of Arkansas. He is fluent in three languages and has held positions in Mexico and the Middle East.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
It is gratifying that, for over 30 years, hundreds of thousands of students worldwide have been introduced to operations research through the various editions of this book. This success carries with it the responsibility of meeting the needs of future generations of students. The seventh edition is the result of a dedicated effort to live up to this responsibility. The main thrust of the seventh edition is the extensive software support used throughout the book: Windows-based TORA. Excel spreadsheet templates. Examples of LINGO and AMPL applications. The TORA software offers modules for matrix inversion, solution of simultaneous linear equations, linear programming, transportation models, network models, integer programming, queuing models, project planning with CPM and PERT, and game theory. TORA can be executed in automated or tutorial mode. The automated mode reports the final solution of the problem, usually in the standard format followed in commercial packages. The tutorial mode is a unique feature that provides immediate feedback to test the reader's understanding of the computational details of each algorithm. As with its DOS predecessor, the different screens in TORA are accessed in a logical and unambiguous manner, essentially eliminating the need for a user's manual. Excel spreadsheet templates complement TORA's modules. These templates include linear programming, dynamic programming, analytical hierarchy process (AHP), inventory models, histogramming of raw data, decision theory, Poisson queues, P-K formula, simulation, and nonlinear models. Some of the templates are direct spreadsheets. Others use Excel Solver or VBA macros. Regardless of the design, all templates offer the unique feature of being equipped with an input data section that allows solving different problems without the need to modify the formulas or the layout of the spreadsheet. In this manner, the user can experiment with, test, and compare different sets of input data in a convenient manner. Where possible, the formulas and the layout of the spreadsheets have been protected to minimize the chance of inadvertently corrupting them. The book includes examples of the commercial packages LINGO and AMPL for solving linear programming problems. The objective is to familiarize the reader with how very large mathematical programming models are solved in practice. TORA software and the Excel spreadsheets are integrated into the text in a manner that facilitates introducing and testing concepts that otherwise could not be presented effectively. From my personal experience, I have found TORA's tutorial module and Excel spreadsheets to be highly effective in classroom presentations. Many concepts can be demonstrated instantly, simply by changing the data of the problem. To cite a few examples, TORA can be used to demonstrate the bizarre behavior of the branch-and-bound algorithm by applying it to a (small) integer programming problem, where the solution is found in nine iterations but its optimality verified in more than 25,000 iterations. Without the software and the special design of TORA, it would be impossible to demonstrate this situation in an effective manner. Another example is the unique design of the dynamic programming and the AHP spreadsheets, where the user interactive input is designed to enhance effective understanding of the details of these two topics. A third example deals with explaining the congruential method for generating 0-1 pseudo-random numbers. With the spreadsheet, one can instantly demonstrate the effect of selecting the seed (and the parameters) on the "quality" of the generator, particularly with regard to the cycle length of the random number sequence and, hence, warn the student about the danger of a "causal" implementation of the congruential method within a simulation model. In addition to the software support in the book, all chapters have been streamlined (many rewritten) to present the material in a concise manner. New material includes a new introduction to operations research (Chapter 1); the generalized simplex method (Chapter 4); representation of all network models, including CPM, as linear programs (Chapter 6); PERT networks (Chapter 6); solution of the traveling sales Person problem (Chapter 9); and the golden section method (Chapter 21). As in the sixth edition, the book is organized into three parts: deterministic models, probabilistic models, and nonlinear models. Appendices A through D include a review of matrix algebra, a TORA primer (though TORA's design makes a user's manual unnecessary), basic statistical tables, and partial answers to selected problems.
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