[mlpack-svn] [MLPACK] #120: Force all machine learning methods to consistent API

[MLPACK Trac]

#120: Force all machine learning methods to consistent API
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  Reporter:  rcurtin                 |        Owner:            
      Type:  defect                  |       Status:  new       
  Priority:  major                   |    Milestone:  MLPACK 1.0
 Component:  MLPACK                  |   Resolution:            
  Keywords:  consistent api methods  |     Blocking:            
Blocked By:  118, 152, 153, 154      |  
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Comment (by nslagle):

 Interestingly, in reading about
 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_based_design policy-based design in
 C++], I learned that a standard approach ''is'' to use inheritance and
 multiple inheritance to promote functionality sharing.  I agree that the
 logger (and per our more recent discussion, the CLI) should not be classes
 from which ''MLMethods'' derive, I think that a base ''MLMethod'' class
 would contain save/load functionality with protected
 read/write/saveParam/loadParam methods, a private XML tree traverser (as
 is currently in the code), and a virtual pair of SaveModel and LoadModel
 defined as dummy ''return true'' statements.  This permits later classes
 to override them if desired, but if a method down below has no need of
 saving and loading, it can simply ignore these methods.

 So we might have something like this:

 {{{
 MLMethod (save/load functionality, method name variable)
 .                     .          .
 .                     .            .
 .                     .              .
 MLClassifier       MLRegressor  MLDensityEstimator
 }}}

 ''MLDensityEstimators'' would include a KDE using dual-tree, under which
 we'd have KCDE using dual-tree.  Other sibling classes would later include
 some ideas I plan to spring on Alex later on (though we've discussed them
 briefly this semester).

 Each of these classes and subclasses would continue to take template
 arguments for kernels, tree-types, etc, but have the advantage of sharing
 code.

 In the context of this ticket, the uniform API across all descendants of
 ''MLMethod'' currently would include (as it should anyway) a SaveModel and
 a LoadModel function.

 So let the fireworks begin!

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://trac.research.cc.gatech.edu/fastlab/ticket/120#comment:20>
MLPACK <www.fast-lab.org>
MLPACK is an intuitive, fast, and scalable C++ machine learning library developed by the FASTLAB at Georgia Tech under Dr. Alex Gray.