Re: Contribution to the optimization toolbox

[Søren Hauberg]

fre, 04 09 2009 kl. 10:27 -0300, skrev Leonardo Martins:
> 1) Regarding tests, has anyone ever considered interfacing
> Octave/Optim Toolbox with CUTEr (http://hsl.rl.ac.uk/cuter-www/) for
> more standardized testing? It can be a lot of work, but in the long
> run I guess Octave can benefit from knowing exactly where it stands if
> compared to other optimization software.

It seems like CUTEr is non-free software (it does not allow for
commercial use), so I don't think we're allowed to interface with it.
Perhaps the Matlab interface can be used directly (Octave does support
MEX) ?

> That rises another question: what criteria are
> used to determine whether a tool goes to the core/(from) toolbox? Is
> there any workflow based on reliability, compatibility, or any other
> criteria?

I don't think any clear-cut criteria exists, but in general, things
should go into Octave core if

  1) they are in Matlab core, or
  2) they are of very general use.

In terms of optimisation, I would _guess_ that things should go into
Octave core if they are in Matlab core (for compatibility), and
otherwise in the 'optimization' package.

Soren