LP file format: algebraic representation

CPLEX conforms to these rules for the LP file format.

CPLEX provides a facility for entering a problem in a natural, algebraic LP formulation from the keyboard. The problem can be modified and saved from within CPLEX. This procedure is one way to create a file in a format that  CPLEX can read. An alternative technique is to create a similar file using a standard text editor and to read it into CPLEX.

LP format can represent not only a linear program (LP) but also features of a mixed integer program (MIP). For details, see MIP features in LP file format in this manual.

The CPLEX LP format is provided as an input alternative to the MPS file format. An LP format file may be easier to generate than an MPS file if your problem already exists in an algebraic format or if you have an application which generates the problem file more readily in algebraic format (such as a C application). Working with LP files in the CPLEX User’s Manual in the topic about managing input and output explains the implications of using LP format rather than MPS format.

CPLEX accepts any problem saved in an ASCII file provided that it adheres to the following syntax rules.