Suggested Citation:
Fan, Yueyue, Robert E. Kalaba, Harriet Natsuyama, Firdaus E. Udwadia (2005) Reflections on the Gauss Principle of Least Constraint. Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications 127 (3), 475 - 484

The Gauss principle of least constraint is derived from a new point of view. Then, an extended principle of least constraint is derived to cover the case of nonideal constraints. Finally, a version of the principle for general underdetermined systems is adumbrated. Throughout, the notion of generalized inverses of matices plays a prominent role.

Key words: Gauss principle of least constraint, nonideal nonholonomic constraints, generalized inverses of matrices