Types of Objective Functions

Many Optimization Toolbox™ solvers minimize a scalar function of a multidimensional vector. The objective function is the function the solvers attempt to minimize. Several solvers accept vector-valued objective functions, and some solvers use objective functions you specify by vectors or matrices.

Objective Type	Solvers	How to Write Objectives
Scalar	fmincon fminunc fminbnd fminsearch fseminf fzero	Writing Scalar Objective Functions
Nonlinear least squares	lsqcurvefit lsqnonlin	Writing Vector and Matrix Objective Functions
Multivariable equation solving	fsolve
Multiobjective	fgoalattain fminimax
Linear programming	linprog	Writing Objective Functions for Linear or Quadratic Problems
Mixed-integer linear programming	intlinprog
Linear least squares	lsqlin lsqnonneg
Quadratic programming	quadprog

Related Topics

• Solver-Based Optimization Problem Setup