computer science

OR-Tools

OR-Tools is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand OR-Tools rather than just read about it. In short: Google OR-Tools is a free and open-source software suite developed by Google for solving linear programming (LP), mixed integer programming (MIP), constraint programming (CP), vehicle routing (VRP), and related optimization problems. OR stands for operations research.

Key takeaways

OR-Tools belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect OR-Tools to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of OR-Tools from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Google OR-Tools is a free and open-source software suite developed by Google for solving linear programming (LP), mixed integer programming (MIP), constraint programming (CP), vehicle routing (VRP), and related optimization problems. OR stands for operations research. OR-Tools is a set of components written in C++ but provides wrappers for Java, .NET and Python. It is distributed under the Apache License 2.0.

History OR-Tools was created by Laurent Perron in 2011. In 2014, Google's open source linear programming solver, GLOP, was released as part of OR-Tools. The CP-SAT solver bundled with OR-Tools has been consistently winning gold medals in the MiniZinc Challenge, an international constraint programming competition.

Features The OR-Tools supports a variety of programming languages, including:

Object-oriented interfaces for C++ A Java wrapper package A .NET and .NET Framework wrapper package A Python wrapper package OR-Tools supports a wide range of problem types, among them:

Assignment problem Linear programming Mixed-integer programming Constraint programming Vehicle routing problem Network flow algorithms It supports the FlatZinc modeling language.

See also COIN-OR CPLEX GLPK SCIP (optimization software) FICO Xpress MOSEK

References

Bibliography

External links Official website Source code Video introduction to OR-Tools

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with OR-Tools

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what OR-Tools claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to OR-Tools before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about OR-Tools ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of OR-Tools

In research: OR-Tools appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses OR-Tools in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: OR-Tools is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Mathematical optimization software, Numerical programming languages, Numerical software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for OR-Tools outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study OR-Tools in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what OR-Tools means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain OR-Tools out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is OR-Tools in simple terms?

Why does OR-Tools matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study OR-Tools?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on OR-Tools.