GENERALIZED NETWORKS - FUNDAMENTAL COMPUTER-BASED PLANNING TOOL

An account is given of how generalized networks are used to model a diversity of significant practical problems. A discussion is given of the model structure of a generalized network (GN) and a brief survey is given of applications which have been modeled as GN problems. An explanation is outlined of a somewhat newer modeling technique in which generalized networks form a major, but not the only, component of the model. A technical exposition is presented of the design and analysis of computer solution techniques for large-scale GN problems. They contain a study of GN solution strategies within the framework of specializations of the primal simplex method. Identification is made of an efficient solution procedure derived from an integrated system of start, pivot, and degeneracy rules. The resulting computer code is shown, on large problems, to be at least 50 times more efficient than the LP system, APEX III.