Overview#

mlrose-ky is a Python package for applying some of the most common randomized optimization and search algorithms to a range of different optimization problems, over both discrete- and continuous-valued parameter spaces.

Project Background#

mlrose-ky is a fork of the mlrose-hiive repository, which itself was a fork of the original mlrose repository. The original mlrose package was developed to support students of Georgia Tech's OMSCS/OMSA offering of CS 7641: Machine Learning.

This repository includes implementations of all randomized optimization algorithms taught in the course, as well as functionality to apply these algorithms to integer-string optimization problems, such as N-Queens and the Knapsack problem; continuous-valued optimization problems, such as the neural network weight problem; and tour optimization problems, such as the Travelling Salesperson problem. It also has the flexibility to solve user-defined optimization problems.

Main Features#

Randomized Optimization Algorithms
* Implementations of: hill climbing, randomized hill climbing, simulated annealing, genetic algorithm and (discrete) MIMIC;
* Solve both maximization and minimization problems;
* Define the algorithm’s initial state or start from a random state;
* Define your own simulated annealing decay schedule or use one of three pre-defined, customizable decay schedules: geometric decay, arithmetic decay or exponential decay.

Problem Types
* Solve discrete-value (bit-string and integer-string), continuous-value and tour optimization (travelling salesperson) problems;
* Define your own fitness function for optimization or use a pre-defined function.
* Pre-defined fitness functions exist for solving the: One Max, Flip Flop, Four Peaks, Six Peaks, Continuous Peaks, Knapsack, Travelling Salesperson, N-Queens and Max-K Color optimization problems.

Machine Learning Weight Optimization
* Optimize the weights of neural networks, linear regression models and logistic regression models using randomized hill climbing, simulated annealing, the genetic algorithm or gradient descent;
* Supports classification and regression neural networks.

Project Improvements and Updates#

The mlrose-ky project is undergoing significant improvements to enhance code quality, documentation, and testing. Below is a list of tasks that have been completed or are in progress:

  1. Fix Python Warnings and Errors: All Python warnings and errors have been addressed, except for a few unavoidable ones like "duplicate code." βœ…

  2. Add Python 3.10 Type Hints: Type hints are being added to all function and method definitions, as well as method properties (e.g., self.foo: str = 'bar'), to improve code clarity and maintainability.

  3. Enhance Documentation: NumPy-style docstrings are being added to all functions and methods, with at least a one-line docstring at the top of every file summarizing its contents. This will make the codebase more understandable and easier to use for others.

  4. Increase Test Coverage: Tests are being added using Pytest, with a goal of achieving 100% code coverage to ensure the robustness of the codebase.

  5. Resolve TODO/FIXME Comments: A thorough search is being conducted for any TODO, FIXME, or similar comments, and their respective issues are being resolved.

  6. Optimize Code: Vanilla Python loops are being optimized where possible by vectorizing them with NumPy to enhance performance.

  7. Improve Code Quality: Any other sub-optimal code, bugs, or code quality issues are being addressed to ensure a high standard of coding practices.

  8. Clean Up Codebase: All commented-out code is being removed to keep the codebase clean and maintainable.

Installation#

mlrose-ky was written in Python 3 and requires NumPy, SciPy and Scikit-Learn (sklearn).

The latest released version is available at the Python package index and can be installed using pip:

pip install mlrose-ky

Once it is installed, simply import it like so:

import mlrose_ky

Licensing, Authors, Acknowledgements#

mlrose-ky was forked from the mlrose-hiive repository, which was a fork of the original mlrose repository.

The original mlrose was written by Genevieve Hayes and is distributed under the 3-Clause BSD license.

You can cite mlrose-ky in research publications and reports as follows:

Please also keep the original authors' citations:

  • Rollings, A. (2020). mlrose: Machine Learning, Randomized Optimization and SEarch package for Python, hiive extended remix. https://github.com/hiive/mlrose. Accessed: day month year.
  • Hayes, G. (2019). mlrose: Machine Learning, Randomized Optimization and SEarch package for Python. https://github.com/gkhayes/mlrose. Accessed: day month year.

Thanks to David S. Park for the MIMIC enhancements (from https://github.com/parkds/mlrose).

BibTeX entry:

@misc{Nakamura24,
 author = {Nakamura, K.},
 title  = {{mlrose-ky: Machine Learning, Randomized Optimization and SEarch package for Python}},
 year   = 2024,
 howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/knakamura13/mlrose-ky}},
 note   = {Accessed: day month year}
}

@misc{Hayes19,
 author = {Hayes, G},
 title  = {{mlrose: Machine Learning, Randomized Optimization and SEarch package for Python}},
 year   = 2019,
 howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/gkhayes/mlrose}},
 note   = {Accessed: day month year}
}