Using matlab NLP solver

Sowmya Manojna

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May 28, 2020, 3:16:04 PM5/28/20

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Hi.

I have been trying to solve an NLP problem using the matlab solver.

When initCobraToolbox is executed, the matlab NLP solver is reported to be active and installed.

Output of initCobraToolbox:

Support LP MILP QP MIQP NLP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

gurobi active 1 1 1 1 -

ibm_cplex active 1 1 1 1 -

tomlab_cplex active 1 1 1 1 -

glpk active 1 1 - - -

mosek active 0 - 0 - -

matlab active 1 - - - 1

pdco active 1 - 1 - -

quadMinos active 0 - - - -

dqqMinos active 0 - 0 - -

cplex_direct active 1 1 1 - -

cplexlp active 1 - - - -

qpng passive - - 1 - -

tomlab_snopt passive - - - - 1

lp_solve legacy 1 - - - -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total - 9 5 6 3 2

+ Legend: - = not applicable, 0 = solver not compatible or not installed, 1 = solver installed.

> You can solve LP problems using: 'gurobi' - 'ibm_cplex' - 'glpk' - 'pdco' - 'cplexlp'

> You can solve MILP problems using: 'gurobi' - 'ibm_cplex' - 'glpk'

> You can solve QP problems using: 'gurobi' - 'ibm_cplex' - 'pdco'

> You can solve MIQP problems using: 'gurobi' - 'ibm_cplex'

> You can solve NLP problems using:

> Checking for available updates ...

> The COBRA Toolbox is up-to-date.

However the matlab solver is not recognised. I tried to change the cobra solver to matlab using changeCobrasolver to confirm if it was a function problem or an output rendering issue. The result is as follows:

>> changeCobraSolver('matlab', 'NLP')

> changeCobraSolver: Solver matlab is installed but not working properly.

ans =

logical

0

I checked if the fmincon function was working using a few sample functions and found it to be working perfectly.

I tried searching for a solution to this issue but couldn’t find any. Any help in this regard would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and regards,

Sowmya

Ronan M.T. Fleming

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May 30, 2020, 5:06:41 PM5/30/20

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Hi Sowmya,
try
changeCobraSolver('matlab', 'NLP',1,2)
then see what you get and debug from there.
Regards,
Ronan
[solverOK, solverInstalled] = changeCobraSolver(solverName,
solverType, printLevel, validationLevel)
https://opencobra.github.io/cobratoolbox/stable/modules/base/solvers/index.html?highlight=changecobrasolver#src.base.solvers.changeCobraSolver

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Sowmya Manojna

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Jun 3, 2020, 7:56:25 AM6/3/20

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Dear Sir,

Thank you for the guidance. I tried debugging it using the verbose option and it worked.

The changes made in order to fix the problem (in COBRA v3 and MATLAB 2020a) are as follows:

Program Name

Line number

Changes made

initCobraToolbox

339

From: SOLVERS.matlab.type = {‘LP’, 'NLP'};
To: SOLVERS.matlab.type = {'NLP'};

Explanation:
optimoptions doesn’t support code generation for linprog and also as in line 1017 of solveCobraLP, matlab is not a reliable LP solver

solveCobraNLP

157

From: options = optimoptions('fmincon','maxIter',cobraParams.iterationLimit,'maxFunEvals',cobraParams.iterationLimit, 'Display',fminconPrintLevel);

To: options = optimoptions('fmincon','maxIter',cobraParams.iterationLimit,'MaxFunctionEvaluations',cobraParams.iterationLimit, 'Display',fminconPrintLevel, 'Algorithm','sqp');

Explanation:
Unrecognized parameter name: 'maxFunEvals'. maxFunEvals is not a parameter in the optimoptions of fmincon. MaxFunctionEvaluations is. The Algorithm parameter should be specified and the available algorithms are: interior-point, SQP, active set, and trust-region-reflective

Thanks and regards,

Sowmya Manojna

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobra-toolbox/CAOivGYvRa3jzcSAMN%2B_Ri27GuYLzKGedYfOsS4p10uMg9H6xyQ%40mail.gmail.com.

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Thanks and Regards,

N Sowmya Manojna

Ronan M.T. Fleming

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Jun 7, 2020, 10:58:09 AM6/7/20

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Hi Sowmya,

please could you make a PR with those suggested changes?

Regards,

Ronan

https://opencobra.github.io/cobratoolbox/stable/contributing.html

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