Editing Optimization problem (section)

{{Short description|Problem of finding the best feasible solution}}
{{Broader|Mathematical optimization}}

In [[mathematics]], [[engineering]], [[computer science]] and [[economics]], an '''optimization problem''' is the [[Computational problem|problem]] of finding the ''best'' solution from all [[feasible solution]]s.

Optimization problems can be divided into two categories, depending on whether the [[Variable (mathematics)|variables]] are [[continuous variable|continuous]] or [[discrete variable|discrete]]: 
* An optimization problem with discrete variables is known as a ''[[discrete optimization]]'', in which an [[Mathematical object|object]] such as an [[integer]], [[permutation]] or [[Graph (discrete mathematics)|graph]] must be found from a [[countable set]]. 
* A problem with continuous variables is known as a ''[[continuous optimization]]'', in which an optimal value from a [[continuous function]] must be found. They can include [[Constrained optimization|constrained problem]]s and multimodal problems.