Display of constraint results

Analytica User Guide > Formatting Numbers, Tables, and Graphs > Display of constraint results

Constraint nodes are used in Analytica Optimizer models, and are defined as a comparison such as x+y <= z. When the result of a constraint node is displayed, both the left-hand and right-hand side values of the comparison are displayed using the selected number format. For example, the constraint might contain the definition:

GetFract(Expenses,75%) <= GetFract(Revenue,25%)

but when the result of the constraint is displayed, a cell in the result displays might display as:

845.1 <= 12.3K

Not that in a non-constraint node, the result of a comparison would display as a boolean value, i.e., 0 or 1.

When the constraint is violated the display is proceeded by {!}, e.g., {!}28<=21. This display is helpful when debugging optimization models, since it allows you to see the actual values of each side of the constraint. When the Boolean number format is selected, the comparison display is not used -- True is displayed when the constraint is satisfied, False when it is violated. Beware that the optimizer solver engines generally find solutions that are within an epsilon of satisfying each constraint, but when displaying the constraint result, you will see False when the constraint is violated only by epsilon and the solver engine considers it satisfied.

See Also

Date formats <-

Display of constraint results

-> Multiple formats in one table