A unified view of interior point methods for linear programming

The paper shows how various interior point methods for linear programming may all be derived from logarithmic barrier methods. These methods include primal and dual projective methods, affine methods, and methods based on the method of centers. In particular, the paper demonstrates that Karmarkar's algorithm is equivalent to a classical logarithmic barrier method applied to a problem in standard form.Invited paper presented at the Workshop on Supercomputers in Optimization, Minneapolis, Minn., May 1988.The work of this author was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Systems Command, USA, under Grants AFOSR-87-0215 and AFOSR-85-0271. The US Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes not withstanding any copyright notation thereon.