There is currently a plethora of formats for representing optimization models and instances.
The varying degrees of support for these formats, coupled with their well-documented
deficiencies complicate the task of developing and integrating optimization models and
software. This has led to new initiatives to develop new forms of model representation, which
address these deficiencies and exploit advances in software technology, particularly the
Internet. This paper describes a framework, which not only comprehensively addresses the
issue of model and instance representation but also provides in-built support for distributed
optimization, particularly in the area of service delivery over the Internet.