State-of-the-art in nonlinear optimization software for the microcomputer

In the last 3 years, a number of new commercial systems that solve nonlinear programming problems on a microcomputer have been introduced to compete with already existing packages. These systems, both old and new, contain a wide variety of features and capabilities that allow academics and practitioners to attack highly nonlinear problems. In this paper the goal of the authors is to review the modeling language and mathematical programming features and user-interface and user-control capabilities of this class of micro-based packages in order to determine how effective they are at modeling, managing, and solving NLPs.