A comparison of computational strategies for geometric programs

Numerous algorithms for the solution of geometric programs have been reported in the literature. Nearly all are based on the use of conventional programming techniques specialized to exploit the characteristic structure of either the primal or the dual or a transformed primal problem. This paper attempts to elucidate, via computational comparisons, whether a primal, a dual, or a transformed primal solution approach is to be preferred.The authors wish to thank Captain P. A. Beck and Dr. R. S. Dembo for making available their codes. This research was supported in part under ONR Contract No. N00014-76-C-0551 with Purdue University.