The Interactive Optimizer in ILOG CPLEX (introduced in the manual ILOG CPLEX Getting Started) offers a reliable means to test the ILOG CPLEX component of your application interactively, particularly if you have prototyped your problem model. Interactive testing through the Interactive Optimizer can also help you identify precisely which methods or routines from the Component Libraries your application needs. Additionally, interactive testing early in development may also uncover any flaws in procedural logic before they entail costly coding efforts.

Most importantly, optimization commands in the Interactive Optimizer perform exactly like optimization routines in the Component Libraries. In other words, the command primopt works just the same way as the method IloCplex::setRootAlgorithm(IloCplex::Primal) and the routine CPXprimopt(); likewise, the command tranopt works like the method IloCplex::setRootAlgorithm(IloCplex::Dual) and the routine CPXdualopt(); netopt works like IloCplex::setRootAlgorithm(IloCplex::Barrier) and CPXhybnetopt(), and so forth. Consequently, any discrepancy between the Interactive Optimizer and the Component Libraries routines with respect to the solutions found, memory used, or time taken indicates a problem in the logic of the application calling the routines.