Array and list factors
This page lists the built-in methods and operators for creating random variables of array and list type. The most common way of creating array variables is through the modelling API using random variable arrays and ranges, and replicating factors across the range; many example of this can be found in the user guide. Sometimes arrays and lists can be defined directly as output of a factor, and it is those factors than are described here. Some of the factors involve variables of type ISparseList<T> where T is some domain (such as bool or double); a sparse list is one where just a few of the elements have values that differ from the common value shared by all the other elements.
For both static methods and operators, you can often pass in random variables as arguments e.g. Variable<ISparseList<double>> instead of ISparseList<double>. For compactness, this is not shown in the syntax below.
These methods provide a convenient short alternative to using Variable<T>.Factor and passing in the factor method, as described on this page.
Distribution Factors
A distribution factor creates a random variable from a parameterised distribution.
| Distribution | Syntax | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bernoulli list | Variable.BernoulliList(ISparseList<double> probTrue) |
Creates a random variable of type ISparseList<bool> with distribution parameterized by a sparse list of values representing probability of true. |
| Bernoulli integer subset | Variable.BernoulliIntegerSubset(ISparseList<double> probInSubset) |
Creates a random variable of type List<int> listing membership of a set with distribution parameterized by sparse list of values representing probability of set membership. |
| Gaussian list | Variable.GaussianListFromMeanAndPrecision(ISparseList<double> mean, ISparseList<double> precision) |
Creates a random variable of type ISparseList<double> with distribution parameterized by sparse lists of Gaussian means and precisions. |
| Multinomial | Variable.Multinomial(int trialCount, Vector probs) |
Creates an integer random variable array representing the counts of each index given a number of trials and the probability of each index. |
| Multinomial list | Variable.MultinomialList(int trialCount, Vector probs) |
As with Multinomial except that the created random variable has type IList instead of array. |
Miscellaneous factors
| Operation | Syntax | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Subarray | Variable.Subarray<T>(T[] array, int[] indices) |
Creates a T[] random variable array by extracting elements of array at the specified indices, which cannot include duplicates. Subarray should be used instead of GetItems, whenever you can be sure that there are no duplicates, since it is more efficient. |
| GetItems | Variable.GetItems<T>(T[] array, int[] indices) |
Creates a T[] random variable array by extracting elements of array at the specified indices, which may include duplicates. Some uses of GetItems can also be achieved through indexing. If there are no duplicate indices, Subarray should be used instead. |
| ArrayFromVector | Variable.ArrayFromVector(Vector vector) |
Create an array of double random variables corresponding to the elements of the supplied random vector. This is more efficient than calling GetItem on each element. |
| Split | Variable.Split<T>(T[] array, Range headRange, Range tailRange, out VariableArray<T> tail) |
Creates two arrays by splitting array into disjoint parts. The sizes of the parts are given by headRange and tailRange. |
| SplitSubarray | Variable.SplitSubarray<T>(T[] array, int[][] indices) |
Creates a jagged array, shaped according to indices, from disjoint elements of array. indices cannot include duplicates. To allow duplicates, use JaggedSubarray. |
| JaggedSubarray | Variable.JaggedSubarray<T>(T[] array, int[][] indices) |
Creates a jagged array, shaped according to indices, from elements of array. indices[i][j] must be different for different j and same i, but can match for different i. If all indices are different, use SplitSubarray. |