A First Course in Combinatorial Optimization

Book excerpt: A First Course in Combinatorial Optimization is a text for a one-semester introductory graduate-level course for students of operations research, mathematics, and computer science. It is a self-contained treatment of the subject, requiring only some mathematical maturity. Topics include: linear and integer programming, polytopes, matroids and matroid optimization, shortest paths, and network flows. Central to the exposition is the polyhedral viewpoint, which is the key principle underlying the successful integer-programming approach to combinatorial-optimization problems. Another key unifying topic is matroids. The author does not dwell on data structures and implementation details, preferring to focus on the key mathematical ideas that lead to useful models and algorithms. Problems and exercises are included throughout as well as references for further study.