# Introduction

## Welcome to CLP!

The COIN Linear Program code or CLP is an open-source simplex solver written in C++. It is primarily meant to be used as a callable library, but a basic, stand-alone executable version is also available.

There are a number of resources available to help new CLP users get started. This document is designed to be used in conjunction with the files in the Samples subdirectory of the main CLP directory (`COIN/Clp/Samples`). The Samples illustrate how to use CLP and may also serve as useful starting points for user projects. In the rare event that either this document or the available Doxygen content conflicts with the observed behavior of the source code, the comments in the header files, found in `COIN/Clp/include`, are the ultimate reference.

## Prerequisites

CLP is written in C++, so it is expected that users of CLP will be writing C++ programs which use CLP as a library. Thus a working knowledge of C++, including basic object-oriented programming terminology is assumed in this document. In addition, the user should be familiar with the fundamental concepts of Linear Programming.