Why is constraint optimization referred to as "X programming"?

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In many cases, constraint optimization will be referred to as some sort of "programming" like linear programming or quadratic programming. Why is this?

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This doesn't have to do with computer programs. The word "programming" is used in the sense of "planning" -- think of the program for a party or event, for example.

Some of the earliest motivating examples for optimization theory were about moving (military) supplies between producers and users, through warehouses and vehicles of limited capacity. The outcome of solving the problem was a concrete program for how stuff would be moved around, which trucks to send where at which time, etc.