In the following pages we give step-by-step instructions for using the TSP Cutting-Plane Applet. We will use the example WI29; it may help to follow along with the applet in another browser window.

In the tutorial, we will use terms defined in the help page. The help page contains a description of the applet along with a basic description of the cutting-plane method; we will assume that the reader has viewed this information.

To start the applet, click the "Solve Problem" button to display the linear programming (LP) solution. The solution is colored coded. In our example, there are white edges, red edges, and black edges. The white edges are those that are assigned values close to 0, and we will ignore them while looking for subtour-elimination constraints. The red edges have value close to 1/2 and the black edges have value 1. (In this tutorial, all of the LP solutions we will see are red and black; in general, more interesting colors will also appear.)

Click Start to start the tutorial.