General criteria for redundant and nonredundant linear inequalities

A system of linear inequalities subject to nonnegativity restrictions is considered. General criteria which are necessary and sufficient for a linear inequality to be redundant are derived. This general characterization provides a basis for unifying some of the existing techniques. After taking into consideration the existence of redundant linear inequalities, general necessary and sufficient criteria for a linear inequality to be nonredundant are also obtained. An example is given to illustrate the application of these new criteria.The author wishes to thank the referee for his comments.