matlab: structural data and multi-level indexing - arrays

I have a simple problem with structures.
Lets create:
x(1).a(:, :) = magic(2);
x(2).a(:, :) = magic(2)*2;
x(3).a(:, :) = magic(2)*3;
how to list a(1, 1) from all x-es?
i wanted to do it like:
x(1, :).a(1,1)
but there is an error "Scalar index required for this type of multi-level indexing."
How to approach it? I know I can do it with a loop, but that's probably the worst solution :)
Thanks!

This is not the best datastructure to use if this is the sort of query you'd like to make on it, precisely because this sort of indexing cannot be done directly.
However, here is one approach that works:
cellfun(#(X) X(1,1), {x.a})
The syntax {x.a} converts x from a 'struct array' into a cell array. Then we use cellfun to apply a function as a map over the cell array. The anonymous function #(X) X(1,1) takes one argument X and returns X(1,1).

You can also get your data in this way:
B = cat(3,x.a);
out = reshape(B(1,1,:),1,[]);
By the way, loops are not evil. Sometimes they are even faster than vectorized indexation. Try it both ways, see what suits you best in terms of:
Speed - use the profiler to check
Code clarity - depends on the context. Sometimes vectorized code looks better, sometimes the opposite.

Related

Julia, use of map to run a function multiple times,

I have some code that runs fine and does what I want, although there may be a simpler more elegant solution, this works :
round(Int16, floor(rand(TruncatedNormal(150,20,50,250))))
However when I try to execute it multiple times, using map, it throws an error saying it doesn't like the Int16 specification, so this:
map(round(Int16, floor(rand(TruncatedNormal(150,20,50,250)))), 1:2)
throws this error
ERROR: MethodError: objects of type Int16 are not callable
I just want to run it twice (in this case) and sum the results. Why is it unhappy? Thx. J
The first argument to map is a function. So, with your code, Julia is trying to make a function call:
round(Int16, floor(rand(TruncatedNormal(150,20,50,250))))()
But the output of round(Int16, ...) isn't a function, it's a number, so you cannot call it. That's why the error says "objects of type Int16 are not callable." You could fix this by using an anonymous function:
map(() -> round(Int16, floor(rand(TruncatedNormal(150,20,50,250)))), 1:2)
But the "Julian" way to do this is to use a comprehension:
[round(Int16, floor(rand(TruncatedNormal(150,20,50,250)))) for _ in 1:2]
EDIT:
If you are going to sum the results, then you can use something that looks like a comprehension but is called a generator expression. This is basically everything above with the [ ] around the expression. A generator expression can be used directly in functions like sum or mean, etc.
sum(round(Int16, floor(rand(TruncatedNormal(150,20,50,250)))) for _ in 1:2)
The advantage to generator expressions is that they don't allocate the memory for the full array. So, if you did this 100 times and used the sum approach above, you wouldn't need to allocate space for 100 numbers.
This goes beyond the original question, but OP wanted to use the sum expression where the 2 in 1:2 is a 1-element vector. Of course, if the input is always a 1-element vector, then I recommend first(x) like the comments. But this is a nice opportunity to show the importance of breaking things down into functions frequently in Julia. For example, you could take the entire sum expression and define a function
generatenumbers(n::Integer) = sum(... for _ in 1:n)
where n is a scalar. Then if you have some odd array expression for n (1-element vector, many such ns in a multi-dim array, etc.), you can just do:
generatenumbers.(ns)
# will apply to each element and return same shape as ns
If the de-sugaring logic is more complex than applying element-wise, you can even define:
generatenumbers(ns::AbstractArray) = # ... something more complex
The point is to define an "atomic" function that expresses the statement or task you want clearly, then use dispatch to apply it to more complicated data-structures that appear in practical code. This is a common design pattern in Julia (not the only option, but an effective one).
Adding on the answer from #darsnack.
If you want to run it multiple times in order to keep the results (it wasn't clear from the question). Then you could also ask rand to produce a vector by doing the following (and also making the type conversion through the floor call).
Moving from:
map(round(Int16, floor(rand(TruncatedNormal(150,20,50,250)))), 1:2)
to:
floor.(Int16, rand(TruncatedNormal(150,20,50,250), 2))
The documentation is here.

Using N-D interpolation with a generic rank?

I'm looking for an elegant way of useing ndgrid and interpn in a more "general" way - basically for any given size of input and not treat each rank in a separate case.
Given an N-D source data with matching N-D mesh given in a cell-array of 1D vectors for each coordinate Mesh={[x1]; [x2]; ...; [xn]} and the query/output coordinates given in the same way (QueryMesh), how do I generate the ndgrid matrices and use them in the interpn without setting a case for each dimension?
Also, if there is a better way the define the mesh - I am more than willing to change.
Here's a pretty obvious, conceptual (and NOT WORKING) schematic of what I want to get, if it wasn't clear
Mesh={linspace(0,1,10); linspace(0,4,20); ... linsapce(0,10,15)};
QueryMesh={linspace(0,1,20); linspace(0,4,40); ... linsapce(0,10,30)};
Data=... (whatever)
NewData=InterpolateGeneric(Mesh,QueryMesh,Data);
function NewData=InterpolateGeneric(Mesh,QueryMesh,Data)
InGrid=ndgrid(Mesh{:});
OutGrid=ndgrid(QueryMesh{:});
NewData=interpn(InGrid{:},Data,OutGrid{:},'linear',0.0)
end
I think what you are looking for is how to get multiple outputs from this line:
OutGrid = ndgrid(QueryMesh{:});
Since ndgrid produces as many output arrays as input arrays it receives, you can create an empty cell array in this way:
OutGrid = cell(size(QueryMesh));
Next, prove each of the elements of OutGrid as an output argument:
[OutGrid{:}] = ndgrid(QueryMesh{:});

Iterating for `setindex!`

I have some specially-defined arrays in Julia which you can think of being just a composition of many arrays. For example:
type CompositeArray{T}
x::Vector{T}
y::Vector{T}
end
with an indexing scheme
getindex(c::CompositeArray,i::Int) = i <= length(c) ? c.x[i] : c.y[i-length(c.x)]
I do have one caveat: the higher indexing scheme just goes to x itself:
getindex(c::CompositeArray,i::Int...) = c.x[i...]
Now the iterator through these can easily be made as the chain of the iterator on x and then on y. This makes iterating through the values have almost no extra cost. However, can something similar be done for iteration to setindex!?
I was thinking of having a separate dispatch on CartesianIndex{2} just for indexing x vs y and the index, and building an eachindex iterator for that, similar to what CatViews.jl does. However, I'm not certain how that will interact with the i... dispatch, or whether it will be useful in this case.
In addition, will broadcasting automatically use this fast iteration scheme if it's built on eachindex?
Edits:
length(c::CompositeArray) = length(c.x) + length(c.y)
In the real case, x can be any AbstractArray (and thus has a linear index), but since only the linear indexing is used (except for that one user-facing getindex function), the problem really boils down to finding out how to do this with x a Vector.
Making X[CartesianIndex(2,1)] mean something different from X[2,1] is certainly not going to end well. And I would expect similar troubles from the fact that X[100,1] may mean something different from X[100] or if length(X) != prod(size(X)). You're free to break the rules, but you shouldn't be surprised when functions in Base and other packages expect you to follow them.
The safe way to do this would be to make eachindex(::CompositeArray) return a custom iterator over objects that you control entirely. Maybe just throw a wrapper around and forward methods to CartesianRange and CartesianIndex{2} if that data structure is helpful. Then when you get one of these custom index types, you know that SplitIndex(CartesianIndex(1,2)) is indeed intending to refer to the first element in the second array.

different way for imsubtract in matlab

I am reading Matlab code and I saw two different types for image arrays subtraction. So, I write here to confirm that it is possible to do it using diffent ways and that I do not make I mistake.
array1 = array2 - array3;
array1 = imsubtract(array2, array3);
As found in the help imsubtract:
'You can use the expression X-Y instead of imsubtract.'
So yes, it seems to be the same. Generally in Matlab you can do something using various ways, and that's what gives to Matlab its very useful flexibility.

Array.isDefinedAt for n-dimensional arrays in scala

Is there an elegant way to express
val a = Array.fill(2,10) {1}
def do_to_elt(i:Int,j:Int) {
if (a.isDefinedAt(i) && a(i).isDefinedAt(j)) f(a(i)(j))
}
in scala?
I recommend that you not use arrays of arrays for 2D arrays, for three main reasons. First, it allows inconsistency: not all columns (or rows, take your pick) need to be the same size. Second, it is inefficient--you have to follow two pointers instead of one. Third, very few library functions exist that work transparently and usefully on arrays of arrays as 2D arrays.
Given these things, you should either use a library that supports 2D arrays, like scalala, or you should write your own. If you do the latter, among other things, this problem magically goes away.
So in terms of elegance: no, there isn't a way. But beyond that, the path you're starting on contains lots of inelegance; you would probably do best to step off of it quickly.
You just need to check the array at index i with isDefinedAt if it exists:
def do_to_elt(i:Int, j:Int): Unit =
if (a.isDefinedAt(i) && a(i).isDefinedAt(j)) f(a(i)(j))
EDIT: Missed that part about the elegant solution as I focused on the error in the code before your edit.
Concerning elegance: no, per se there is no way to express it in a more elegant way. Some might tell you to use the pimp-my-library-Pattern to make it look more elegant but in fact it does not in this case.
If your only use case is to execute a function with an element of a multidimensional array when the indices are valid then this code does that and you should use it. You could generalize the method by changing the signature of to take the function to apply to the element and maybe a value if the indices are invalid like this:
def do_to_elt[A](i: Int, j: Int)(f: Int => A, g: => A = ()) =
if (a.isDefinedAt(i) && a(i).isDefinedAt(j)) f(a(i)(j)) else g
but I would not change anything beyond this. This also does not look more elegant but widens your use case.
(Also: If you are working with arrays you mostly do that for performance reasons and in that case it might even be better to not use isDefinedAt but perform validity checks based on the length of the arrays.)

Resources