User Guide

To find other calculus packages, such as VariationalCalculus, refer to the
?index/package help page.
Student Calculus Packages
The Student package contains subpackages that help instructors teach con-
cepts and allow students to visualize and explore ideas. These subpackages
also contain computational commands. The Student calculus subpackages
include Calculus1, MultivariateCalculus, and VectorCalculus. The Stu-
dent[VectorCalculus] package provides a simple interface to a limited
subset of the functionality available in the VectorCalculus package.
For information on using Maple as a teaching and learning tool, and some
computational examples, see Teaching and Learning with Maple (page 180).
4.5 Optimization
Using the Optimization package, you can numerically solve optimization
problems. The package uses fast Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG) al-
gorithms to minimize or maximize an objective function.
The Optimization package solves constrained and unconstrained problems.
• Linear programs
• Quadratic programs
• Nonlinear programs
• Linear and nonlinear least-squares problems
The Optimization package contains local solvers. In addition, for univariate
finitely-bounded nonlinear programs with no other constraints, you can
compute global solutions using the NLPSolve command. To find global
solutions generally, purchase the Global Optimization Toolbox. For more
information, visit http://www.maplesoft.com/products/toolboxes.
168 • 4 Mathematical Computations