Claude Lemarechal

Convex Analysis may be considered as a refinement of standard calculus, with equalities and approximations replaced by inequalities. As such, it can easily be integrated into a graduate study curriculum. Minimization algorithms, more specifically those adapted to non-differentiable functions, provide an immediate application of convex analysis to various fields related to optimization and operations research. These two topics making up the title of the book, reflect the two origins of the authors, who belong respectively to the academic world and to that of applications. Part I can be used as an introductory textbook (as a basis for courses, or for self-study); Part II continues this at a higher technical level and is addressed more to specialists, collecting results that so far have not appeared in books.

From the reviews: "The account is quite detailed and is written in a manner that will appeal to analysts and numerical practitioners alike...they contain everything from rigorous proofs to tables of numerical calculations.... one of the strong features of these books...that they are designed not for the expert, but for those who whish to learn the subject matter starting from little or no background...there are numerous examples, and counter-examples, to back up the theory...To my knowledge, no other authors have given such a clear geometric account of convex analysis." "This innovative text is well written, copiously illustrated, and accessible to a wide audience"

Just as in its 1st edition, this book starts with illustrations of the ubiquitous character of optimization, and describes numerical algorithms in a tutorial way. It covers fundamental algorithms as well as more specialized and advanced topics for unconstrained and constrained problems. Most of the algorithms are explained in a detailed manner, allowing straightforward implementation. Theoretical aspects of the approaches chosen are also addressed with care, often using minimal assumptions. This new edition contains computational exercises in the form of case studies which help understanding optimization methods beyond their theoretical, description, when coming to actual implementation. Besides, the nonsmooth optimization part has been substantially reorganized and expanded.

This book is an abridged version of our two-volume opus Convex Analysis and Minimization Algorithms [18], about which we have received very positive feedback from users, readers, lecturers ever since it was published - by Springer-Verlag in 1993. Its pedagogical qualities were particularly appreciated, in the combination with a rather advanced technical material. Now [18] hasa dual but clearly defined nature: - an introduction to the basic concepts in convex analysis, - a study of convex minimization problems (with an emphasis on numerical al- rithms), and insists on their mutual interpenetration. It is our feeling that the above basic introduction is much needed in the scientific community. This is the motivation for the present edition, our intention being to create a tool useful to teach convex anal­ ysis. We have thus extracted from [18] its "backbone" devoted to convex analysis, namely ChapsIII-VI and X. Apart from some local improvements, the present text is mostly a copy of thecorresponding chapters. The main difference is that we have deleted material deemed too advanced for an introduction, or too closely attached to numerical algorithms. Further, we have included exercises, whose degree of difficulty is suggested by 0, I or 2 stars *. Finally, the index has been considerably enriched. Just as in [18], each chapter is presented as a "lesson", in the sense of our old masters, treating of a given subject in its entirety.

Ce livre est exclusivement consacré aux algorithmes numériques d'optimisation (quasi-Newton, faisceaux, programmation quadratique successive, points intérieurs); les bases théoriques (conditions d'optimalité, multiplicateurs de Lagrange) sont supposées connues.Son but est de familiariser le lecteur avec ces algorithmes, qui sont pour la plupart bien classiques. Leur description insiste sur leur implémentation numérique, ils peuvent être programmés directement par un lecteur expérimenté. Le côté théorique n'est pas pour autant négligé, avec démonstration de chaque théorème de convergence ou vitesse de convergence; souvent, ces démonstrations utilisent des hypothèses minimales.

From the reviews: "The account is quite detailed and is written in a manner that will appeal to analysts and numerical practitioners alike...they contain everything from rigorous proofs to tables of numerical calculations.... one of the strong features of these books...that they are designed not for the expert, but for those who whish to learn the subject matter starting from little or no background...there are numerous examples, and counter-examples, to back up the theory...To my knowledge, no other authors have given such a clear geometric account of convex analysis." "This innovative text is well written, copiously illustrated, and accessible to a wide audience"

Convex Analysis may be considered as a refinement of standard calculus, with equalities and approximations replaced by inequalities. As such, it can easily be integrated into a graduate study curriculum. Minimization algorithms, more specifically those adapted to non-differentiable functions, provide an immediate application of convex analysis to various fields related to optimization and operations research. These two topics making up the title of the book, reflect the two origins of the authors, who belong respectively to the academic world and to that of applications. Part I can be used as an introductory textbook (as a basis for courses, or for self-study); Part II continues this at a higher technical level and is addressed more to specialists, collecting results that so far have not appeared in books.