frontends/react/src/usage.md

This visualizer allows you to define a function and minimize it using one of several iterative optimization algorithms.

Settings

In this tab, you can:

• Select a preset function to optimize
• Or choose --Custom-- to define your own function

When entering a custom function:

• Use x for univariate functions
• Use x and y for bivariate functions

Optimize

In this tab, you can:

• Step through the optimization process
• See the optimizer’s trajectory

Plot Screen

The plot is interactive:

• Click and drag to pan
• Scroll to zoom

Compare algorithms

Open Compare after Optimize. Choose an algorithm, configure its initial point and parameters, and click Add. Repeat to compare different algorithms or parameter choices. Each entry has a matching trajectory color and can be removed.

Animate advances all selected algorithms together. Pause stops playback; Previous and Next step through iterations; Reset returns to the initial points. Adding an algorithm restarts the comparison at iteration zero. Each added algorithm keeps its own initial point, shown in the selected algorithms list. The objective is shared with Settings. Changing the objective or the initial point in Settings restarts the comparison while preserving each algorithm’s configured initial point.