2. IntroductionΒΆ

NC-OPT is an open source software package for Nonconvex Composite Optimization in MATLAB. Its main purpose is to: (a) provide a general API for creating models based on a first-order oracle framework; and (b) leverage the fast matrix subroutines in MATLAB to solve these models. The interface of NC-OPT is loosely based on the well-known Gurobi API.

Currently, the following problems classes are supported:

  • Unconstrained Composite Optimization

  • Linearly Set Constrained Composite Optimization

  • Nonconvex-Concave Min-Max Optimization

  • Spectral Composite Optimization

  • Convex Cone Constrained Composite Optimization

Instances of the above classes include semidefinite programming, convex programming, cone programming, linear and quadratic programmin, and nonconvex programming.

The components of NC-OPT can be split into the following categories.

oracles

Classes that abstract the idea of a first-order oracle at a point. It contains one or more of the following oracles: function value, function gradient, and proximal oracle.

solvers

A collection of composite optimzation solvers that solve the problem associated with a particular first-order oracle. Some examples include: the composite gradient method, the accelerated composite gradient method, and the accelerated inexact proximal point method.

frameworks

A collection of constrained composite optimization frameworks that use a solver to solve a constrained composite optimization model. Some examples include: the quadratic penalty framework, the augmented Lagrangian framework, and the dampened augmented Lagrangian framework.

models

A class that abstracts the idea of a composite optimization model. It contains properties that describe various aspects of the model, including: objective function, constraints, solver, framework, tolerances, and logging.