simplex algorithm

The graph illustrates the Simplex algorithm solving a linear programming problem with two variables. In mathematical optimization, Dantzig's simplex algorithm (or simplex method) is an algorithm for linear programming.

The name of the algorithm is derived from the concept of a simplex and was suggested by T. S. Motzkin. Simplices are not actually used in the method, but one interpretation of it is that it operates on simplicial cones, and these become proper simplices with an additional constraint. The simplicial cones in question are the corners (i.e., the neighborhoods of the vertices) of a geometric object called a polytope. The shape of this polytope is defined by the constraints applied to the objective function.