README.md

Neural network written in Python (NumPy)

This is an implementation of a fully connected neural network in NumPy. The network can be trained by a variety of learning algorithms: backpropagation, resilient backpropagation and scaled conjugate gradient learning. By implementing a matrix approach, the NumPy implementation is able to harvest the power of the BLAS library and efficiently perform the required calculations.

The code has been tested.

Requirements

• Python
• NumPy

This script has been written with PYPY in mind. Use their jit-compiler to run this code blazingly fast.

Learning algorithms

• SciPy's minimize()
• Backpropagation
• Resilient backpropagation
• Scaled Conjugate Gradient

The latter two algorithms are hard to come by as Python implementations. Feel free to take a look at them if you intend to implement them yourself.

Usage

To run the code, navigate into the project folder and execute the following command in the terminal:

$ python main.py

To train the network on a custom dataset, you will have to alter the dataset specified in the main.py file. It is quite self-explanatory.

# training set  Instance( [inputs], [targets] )
trainingset = [ Instance( [0,0], [0] ), Instance( [0,1], [1] ), Instance( [1,0], [1] ), Instance( [1,1], [0] ) ]

settings    = {
    # Required settings
    "cost_function"         : cross_entropy_cost
    "n_inputs"              : 2,        # Number of network input signals
    "layers"                : [ (2, tanh_function), (1, sigmoid_function) ],
                                        # [ (number_of_neurons, activation_function) ]
                                        # The last pair in your list describes the number of output signals

    # Optional settings
    "weights_low"           : -0.1,     # Lower bound on initial weight range
    "weights_high"          : 0.1,      # Upper bound on initial weight range
    "save_trained_network"  : False,    # Whether to write the trained weights to disk

    "input_layer_dropout"   : 0.2,      # dropout fraction of the input layer
    "hidden_layer_dropout"  : 0.5,      # dropout fraction in all hidden layers
}

# initialize your neural network
network = NeuralNet( settings )

# save the trained network
network.save_to_file( "trained_configuration.pkl" )

# load a stored network configuration
# network = NeuralNet.load_from_file( "trained_configuration.pkl" )

# start training on test set one with scaled conjugate gradient
network.scg(
                training_one, 
                ERROR_LIMIT = 1e-4
            )

# start training on test set one with backpropagation
network.backpropagation( 
                training_one,           # specify the training set
                ERROR_LIMIT     = 1e-3,  # define an acceptable error limit 
                learning_rate   = 0.03,  # learning rate
                momentum_factor = 0.45,   # momentum
                #max_iterations  = 100,  # continues until the error limit is reach if this argument is skipped
            )

# start training on test set one with backpropagation
network.resilient_backpropagation( 
                training_one,          # specify the training set
                ERROR_LIMIT     = 1e-3, # define an acceptable error limit
                #max_iterations = (),   # continues until the error limit is reach if this argument is skipped

                # optional parameters
                weight_step_max = 50., 
                weight_step_min = 0., 
                start_step = 0.5, 
                learn_max = 1.2, 
                learn_min = 0.5
            )

# start training on test set one with SciPy
network.scipyoptimize(
                training_one, 
                method = "Newton-CG",
                ERROR_LIMIT = 1e-4
            )

Features:

• Implemented with matrix operation to improve performance.
• Dropout to reduce overfitting (as desribed here). Note that dropout should only be used when using backpropagation.
• PYPY friendly (requires pypy-numpy).
• Features a selection of cost functions (error functions)

Activation functions:

• tanh
• Sigmoid
• Elliot function (fast sigmoid approximation)
• Symmetric Elliot function (fast tanh approximation)
• Rectified Linear Unit
• Linear activation

Cost functions

• Sum squared error (the quadratic cost function)
• Cross entropy cost function
• Exponential cost function
• Hellinger distance

Save and load learned weights

If the setting save is initialized True, the network will prompt you whether to store the weights after the training has succeeded.