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Applying Math with Python

You're reading from   Applying Math with Python Practical recipes for solving computational math problems using Python programming and its libraries

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Product type Paperback
Published in Jul 2020
Publisher Packt
ISBN-13 9781838989750
Length 358 pages
Edition 1st Edition
Languages
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Authors (2):
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Sam Morley Sam Morley
Author Profile Icon Sam Morley
Sam Morley
Sam Morley Sam Morley
Author Profile Icon Sam Morley
Sam Morley
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Table of Contents (12) Chapters Close

Preface 1. Basic Packages, Functions, and Concepts 2. Mathematical Plotting with Matplotlib FREE CHAPTER 3. Calculus and Differential Equations 4. Working with Randomness and Probability 5. Working with Trees and Networks 6. Working with Data and Statistics 7. Regression and Forecasting 8. Geometric Problems 9. Finding Optimal Solutions 10. Miscellaneous Topics 11. Other Books You May Enjoy

Minimizing a simple linear function

The most basic type of problem we face in optimization is finding the parameters where a function takes its minimum value. Usually, this problem is constrained by some bounds on the possible values of the parameters, which increases the complexity of the problem. Obviously, the complexity of this problem increases further if the function that we are minimizing is also complex. For this reason, we must first consider linear functions, which are in the following form:

To solve these kinds of problems, we need to convert the constraints into a form that can be used by the computer. In this case, we usually convert them into a linear algebra problem (matrices and vectors). Once this is done, we can use the tools from the linear algebra packages in NumPy and SciPy to find the parameters we seek. Fortunately, since these kinds of problems occur quite frequently, SciPy has routines that handle this conversion and...

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