title: Open source alternative to MATLAB's fmincon function?
body: <p>Is there an open-source alternative to MATLAB's <a href="http://www.mathworks.com/access/helpdesk/help/toolbox/optim/index.html?/access/helpdesk/help/toolbox/optim/ug/fmincon.html" rel="noreferrer"><code>fmincon</code></a> function for constrained linear optimization? I'm rewriting a MATLAB program to use Python / <a href="http://numpy.scipy.org/" rel="noreferrer">NumPy</a> / <a href="http://www.scipy.org/" rel="noreferrer">SciPy</a> and this is the only function I haven't found an equivalent to. A NumPy-based solution would be ideal, but any language will do.</p>