Introduction to LINDO

Overview
The LINDO modeling syntax is now a subset of the more extensive LINGO modeling
language. LINDO syntax provides a very simple interface for solving general linear and
integer optimization problems. You enable the LINDO style of input in LINGO by
clicking on:

Solver | Options | Interface | File Format | ltx | Apply.

LINDO syntax is limited to formulating linear and integer models. If you wish to also
solve nonlinear models, then you must switch to LINGO syntax by clicking on:

Solver | Options | Interface | File Format | lg4 | Apply.

The notable features of the LINDO style of input that have made it popular over the past
20 years has been its simplicity and ease of use.

Installation
You can download the latest “student” version of LINGO for use with the Hillier text by
going to http://www.lindo.com, clicking on the Help menu and selecting the Textbook
Materials command. When downloading LINGO, note the name of the Zip file the
directory into which it was downloaded. Installation takes about one minute.

On Windows, you install it by running the Setup.exe program from the Zip file and
following the prompts.

On the Mac, double clicking the .DMG file will open a Finder window containing the
LINGO application. Drag the LINGO Icon on top of the Applications folder in order to
copy it there. The LingoDocs folder, containing the User Manual and example models,
can also be dragged to your hard disk. LINGO requires OS X version 10.7 or higher.
Quick Usage
The best way to become familiar with LINDO is to apply it to some of the examples
included with the download. The following screen shot illustrates a sample model using
the LINDO style of syntax:
Models can be retrieved from and saved to files using the File menu item in the upper left
corner of the screen. The Wyndor model pictured above can be found in the Chap03
folder of the Hillier example set.

A model is solved by selecting the model window and then clicking on the red “bullseye”
button on the toolbar at the top of the screen. If the model does not contain any syntax
errors, LINGO will solve it and open a new window containing a solution report.