ILOG CPLEX 10.1 Getting Started > Tutorials > Interactive Optimizer Tutorial > Using Help

ILOG CPLEX accepts commands in several different formats. You can type either the full command name, or any shortened form that uniquely identifies that name. For example, enter help after the CPLEX> prompt, as shown:

CPLEX> help 

You will see a list of the ILOG CPLEX commands on the screen.

Since all commands start with a unique letter, you could also enter just the single letter h.

CPLEX> h 

ILOG CPLEX does not distinguish between upper- and lower-case letters, so you could enter h, H, help, or HELP. All of these variations invoke the help command. The same rules apply to all ILOG CPLEX commands. You need only type enough letters of the command to distinguish it from all other commands, and it does not matter whether you type upper- or lower-case letters. This manual uses lower-case letters.

After you type the help command, a list of available commands with their descriptions appears on the screen, like this:

add             add constraints to the problem
baropt          solve using barrier algorithm
change          change the problem
conflict        refine a conflict for an infeasible problem
display         display problem, solution, or parameter settings
enter           enter a new problem
feasopt         find relaxation to infeasible linear problem
help            provide information on CPLEX commands
mipopt          solve a mixed integer program
netopt          solve the problem using network method
optimize        solve the problem
primopt         solve using the primal method
quit            leave CPLEX
read            read problem or advanced start information from a file
set             set parameters
tranopt         solve using the dual method
write           write problem or solution information to a file
xecute          execute a command from the operating system

Enter enough characters to uniquely identify commands & options.
Commands can be entered partially (CPLEX will prompt you for
further information) or as a whole.

To find out more about a specific command, type help followed by the name of that command. For example, to learn more about the primopt command type:

help primopt 

Typing the full name is unnecessary. Alternatively, you can try:

h p 

The following message appears to tell you more about the use and syntax of the primopt command:

The PRIMOPT command solves the current problem using
a primal simplex method or crosses over to a basic solution 
if a barrier solution exists.

Syntax:  PRIMOPT

A problem must exist in memory (from using either the
ENTER or READ command) in order to use the PRIMOPT
command.

Sensitivity information (dual price and reduced-cost
information) as well as other detailed information about
the solution can be viewed using the DISPLAY command,
after a solution is generated.

Summary

The syntax for the help command is:

help command name