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New in Version 2.8

If you are new to SYMPHONY, you can skip to Section 8.3. Here is a list the new features available in SYMPHONY 2.8:

• New search rules. There are new search rules available in the tree manager. These rules enable better control of diving.

• More accurate timing information. Reported timing information is now more accurate.

• Idle Time Reporting. Measures of processor idle time are now reported in the run statistics.

• More efficient cut pool management. Cuts are now optionally ranked and purged according to a user-defined measure of quality. See the description of user_check_cut().

• Easier use of built-in branching functions. Built-in branching functions can now be more easily called directly by the user if desired. Previously, these functions required the passing of internal data structures, making them difficult for the user to call directly. See the functions branch_* in the file LP/lp_branch.c for usage.

• Better control of strong branching. A new strong branching strategy allows the user to specify that more strong branching candidates should be used near the top of the tree where branching decisions are more critical. See the description of the relevant parameters.