[Help-glpk] GLPK newbie questions

[Harley Mackenzie]

I am new to this list and have a number of questions that I think should be 
part of FAQ for the the GLPK software, as I am sure these are obvious to 
regular readers of this list. Here goes:

1. What is the current status of GLPK?

Is it production quality, work in progress, able to handle large problems?

2. How does it compare with other LP codes such as lp_solve and CPLEX in terms 
of speed, size of problem and reliability?

I dont expect it to be faster than a code such as CPLEX with lots of 
development resources behind it, just how does it compare.

3. Why is it licensed under GPL and not LGPL?

I am aware of the current FSF push for libraries to be licensed under GPL as 
this encourages GPL software to be developed and provides an advantage for GPL 
software. However, I would have thought that a GPL license for an LP library 
serverely restricts its possible use as there are other commercial alternatives 
that can be used in its place and is thus competing with them for market share. 
Free as in "Freedom" in this case would mean LGPL not GPL, if my interpretation 
is correct that if I develop a program that links to GLPK my code then must be 
distributed under GPL, if and only if I distribute the code. Is dual GPL and 
LGPL (or some other FOSS license such as BSD) a possibility with the library?

4. Is there a Perl module for interfacing to GPLK and, if not, would there be 
other interest in my developing such a module?

Would this module be then able to licensed under the normal Perl artistic 
license, as is the norm for Perl modules, or must it then be GPL? It gets 
complicated doesnt it?

5. What are the parts of AMPL not implemented in MathProg?

Thanks for your patience,

Harley Mackenzie
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