Product Description

Convex optimization problems arise frequently in many different fields. A comprehensive introduction to the subject, this book shows in detail how such problems can be solved numerically with great efficiency. The focus is on recognizing convex optimization problems and then finding the most appropriate technique for solving them. The text contains many worked examples and homework exercises and will appeal to students, researchers and practitioners in fields such as engineering, computer science, mathematics, statistics, finance, and economics.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #215153 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-08
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 730 pages

Review
"Boyd and Vandenberghe have written a beautiful book that I strongly recommend to everyone interested in optimization and computational mathematics: Convex Optimization is a very readable and inspiring introduction to this modern field of research...The book will be accessible not only to mathematicians but also to researchers and students who want to use convex optimization in applied fields like engineering, computer science, economics, statistics, or others. I recommend it as one of the best optimization textbooks that have appeared in the last years." Mathematical Methods of Operations Research

"...this concisely writen book is useful in many regards: as a primary textbook for convex optimization with engineering applications or as an alternate text for a more traditional course on linear or nonlinear optimization." Journal of the American Statistical Association, Hans-Jakob Luethi, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

About the Author
Stephen Boyd received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Since 1985 he has been a member of the Electrical Engineering Department at Stanford University, where he is now Professor and Director of the Information Systems Laboratory. He has won numerous awards for teaching and research, and is a Fellow of the IEEE. He was one of the co-founders of Barcelona Design, and is the co-author of two previous books Linear Controller Design: Limits of Performance and Linear Matrix Inequalities in System and Control Theory.

Lieven Vandenberghe received his PhD from the Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium, and is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has published widely in the field of optimization and is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award.

Customer Reviews

The way to go for introducing optimization
Quite simply, this is a wonderful text. Coupling this with Boyd's course at Stanford (the lecture videos, HWs, etc. are all available for free online), you're bound to learn quite a lot about optimization. But most importantly, you'll have an idea of when you can actually apply convex optimization to solve a problem that comes up in your particular field.

My reasoning in giving it such praise is my preference for the rather unusual methodology it takes in introducing you to optimization. Most books I have seen on linear programming or non-linear programming tackle a few standard problems, introduce what is necessary in terms of definitions and proofs, and then focus on the algorithms that solve these standard problems (conjugate gradient et. al.), how they work, their pitfalls, etc. While this is undoubtedly useful material (which Boyd does cover for a good deal in the final chapters), the simple fact of the matter is these algorithms are available as standard methods in optimization packages (which are abstracted from the user), and unless you are actually going into developing, implementing and tweaking algorithms, this quite honestly is useless.

What this book attempts to do, and does very well in my opinion, is to teach you to recognize convexity that's present in problems that are first glance appear to be so incredibly removed from optimization that you might never consider it. This book spends the first 100 pages or so just devoted to building a "calculus" of convexity, if you will, so that you know through what operations convexity is preserved, and you develop intuition as to the potential to use convex optimization in problems in your particular field or application. As such, the first part of the books is focused on building up the skill set, the second part to applications of convex programming, and only the third to the actual algorithms.

A word of warning: some of the explanations (especially in Chapter 4 which focuses on types of convex programs and equivalence of programs) are very general, which won't be satisfying to certain readers who need solid examples to reinforce the concepts. Also, a lot of the material can be quite challenging, requiring a bit of mental gymnastics. However, if you are accompanying your study with the problems at the end of each chapter, you're certain to get practice and demystify the concepts.

In sum, all things considered, a great text.

Excelent reference both for theory and practice
The book provides sound theoretical basis in a non-intimidating way. It also presents many examples that help the reader understand and relate his or her specific needs to general convex optimization problems. I think this book is a really good compromise between theory and practice: it can please the more mathematics-oriented with proofs, definitions, and bibliography; as well as the more application-oriented with examples, implementations, and heuristics. The authors have been very generous in allowing the free download of the full book from their website.

A definite guide
The book excels in readability and style. A perfect balance on the theoretical and practical aspets of the convex optimization. As the name implies, and also as the authors put in preface, it is about recognizing, formulating, and solving convex optimization problems. Provides necessary mathematical background in the first part---not as deeply as a gradute level convex analysis book---and therefore helps reader build a working knowledge. If something is not covered in this part but essential for a working knowledge, then it is in the appendices for sure. Provides a wealth of examples, exercises, and applications. Perfect for self-study as well as classroom use.