This paper presents a series of simple but realistic examples in which common algebraic indexing conventions are not so convenient. In particular, it analyzes the difficulties caused by the conventions that each model component must have a fixed number of indices and that the order of the...

Indexing structures are of fundamental importance to modeling languages for mathematical programming as a device for mathematical abstraction, and because they facilitate achieving conciseness, stability, and error-resistance. The aim of this article is to stimulate discussion of such...