INTRODUCTION
The calculus of variations is the grandparent of mathematical programming. From it we have inherited such concepts as duality and Lagrange multipliers. Many central ideas in optimization were first developed for the calculus of variations, then specialized to nonlinear programming, all of this happening years before linear programming came along.
The calculus of variations solves optimization problems whose parameters are not simple variables, but rather functions. For example, how should the shape of an automobile hood be chosen so as to minimize air resistance? Or, what path does a ray of light follow in an irregular medium? The calculus of variations is closely related to optimal control theory, where a set of “controls” are used to achieve a certain goal in an optimal way. For example, the pilot of an aircraft might wish to use the throttle and flaps to achieve a particular cruising altitude and velocity in a minimum amount of time or using a minimum amount of fuel. We...
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© 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Nash, S.G. (2001). Calculus of variations . In: Gass, S.I., Harris, C.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-0611-X_94
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-0611-X_94
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