Modern modeling of a classic multiperiod problem

In this paper we discuss the integration of modeling and programming in order to solve problems in operations research and decision support. Our goal is to integrate modeling into the larger programming scheme of things and, conversely, to inject programming into modeling. This integration leads to a technologically open way to handle problems in OR, AI, etc. since the full programming arsenal can be brought to bear on these problems and since both problem solving and model management can be abetted by software engineering techniques. Here, by means of variations on a single example, we will illustrate the solution of a linear program, a goal program, a disjunctive program, a hill climbing search, a branch and bound search, and a parallel solution to a stochastic problem.