Differentiable Integer Linear Programming
Keywords: Integer Linear Programming, Learning to Optimize
TL;DR: We propose a differentiable approach for learning to solve integer linear programming (ILP) problems with unsupervised learning.
Abstract: Machine learning (ML) techniques have shown great potential in generating high-quality solutions for integer linear programs (ILPs).
However, existing methods typically rely on a *supervised learning* paradigm, leading to (1) *expensive training cost* due to repeated invocations of traditional solvers to generate training labels, and (2) *plausible yet infeasible solutions* due to the misalignment between the training objective (minimizing prediction loss) and the inference objective (generating high-quality solutions).
To tackle this challenge, we propose **DiffILO** (**Diff**erentiable **I**nteger **L**inear Programming **O**ptimization), an *unsupervised learning paradigm for learning to solve ILPs*.
Specifically, through a novel probabilistic modeling, DiffILO reformulates ILPs---discrete and constrained optimization problems---into continuous, differentiable (almost everywhere), and unconstrained optimization problems.
This reformulation enables DiffILO to simultaneously solve ILPs and train the model via straightforward gradient descent, providing two major advantages.
First, it significantly reduces the training cost, as the training process does not need the aid of traditional solvers at all.
Second, it facilitates the generation of feasible and high-quality solutions, as the model *learns to solve ILPs* in an end-to-end manner, thus aligning the training and inference objectives.
Experiments on commonly used ILP datasets demonstrate that DiffILO not only achieves an average training speedup of $13.2$ times compared to supervised methods, but also outperforms them by generating heuristic solutions with significantly higher feasibility ratios and much better solution qualities.
Primary Area: other topics in machine learning (i.e., none of the above)
Code Of Ethics: I acknowledge that I and all co-authors of this work have read and commit to adhering to the ICLR Code of Ethics.
Submission Guidelines: I certify that this submission complies with the submission instructions as described on https://iclr.cc/Conferences/2025/AuthorGuide.
Reciprocal Reviewing: I understand the reciprocal reviewing requirement as described on https://iclr.cc/Conferences/2025/CallForPapers. If none of the authors are registered as a reviewer, it may result in a desk rejection at the discretion of the program chairs. To request an exception, please complete this form at https://forms.gle/Huojr6VjkFxiQsUp6.
Anonymous Url: I certify that there is no URL (e.g., github page) that could be used to find authors’ identity.
No Acknowledgement Section: I certify that there is no acknowledgement section in this submission for double blind review.
Submission Number: 7722
Loading