specifies the direction of optimization, and there is no standard "default" direction; some LP solvers will maximize if not instructed otherwise, others will minimize, and still others put safety first and have no default and require a selection somewhere in a control program or by a calling parameter. If the model is formulated for minimization and the solver requires maximization (or vice versa), it is easy to convert between the two by negating all coefficients of the objective function. The optimal value of the objective function will then be the negative of the original optimal value, but the values of the variables themselves will be correct. Some programs support specifying minimization/maximization within the MPS file. OBJSENSE MAX Variables The NAME record can have any value, starting in column 15. The ROWS section defines the names of all the constraints; entries in column 2 or 3 are E for equality ( = ) rows, L for less-than ( <= ) rows, G for greater-than ( >= ) rows, and N for non-constraining rows. The order of the rows named in this section is unimportant, except for non-constraining rows marked N, the first of which would be interpreted as the objective function. The COLUMNS section contains the entries of the A-matrix. All entries for a given column must be placed consecutively, although within a column the order of the entries (rows) is irrelevant. Rows not mentioned for a column are implied to have a coefficient of zero. The RHS section allows one or more right-hand-side vectors to be defined; there is seldom more than one. In the above example, the name of the RHS vector is RHS1, and has non-zero values in all 3 of the constraint rows of the problem. Rows not mentioned in an RHS vector would be assumed to have a right-hand-side of zero. The optional BOUNDS section specifies lower and upper bounds on individual variables, if they are not given by rows in the matrix. All the bounds that have a given name in column 5 are taken together as a set. Variables not mentioned in a given BOUNDS set are taken to be non-negative (lower bound zero, no upper bound). A bound of type UP means an upper bound is applied to the variable. A bound of type LO means a lower bound is applied. A bound type of FX ("fixed") means that the variable has upper