FFX: Fast Function Extraction

FFX is a technique for symbolic regression. It is:

* Fast – runtime 5-60 seconds, depending on problem size (1GHz cpu)
* Scalable – 1000 input variables, no problem!
* Deterministic – no need to “hope and pray”.

Technical details
* Circuits-oriented description: Slides Paper (CICC 2011)
* AI-oriented description Slides Paper (GPTP 2011)

Code
* FFX.py (v1.3) – implements FFX algorithm
* runffx.py (v1.3) – toolkit for command-line testing of FFX

Dependencies
* python (tested on 2.5, 2.6, and 2.7)
* numpy (1.6.0+)
* scipy (0.9.0+)
* scikits.learn (0.8+)

Real-world test datasets:
Datasets are included as .tar.gz files under the
example-datasets/ folder.

* 6 Medium-dim. problems: [All 36K] – med-dimensional_benchmark_datasets.tar.gz
* 12 High-dim. problems
    [Part1 17M] – high-dimensional_benchmark_datasets_part1.tar.gz
    [Part2 14M] – high-dimensional_benchmark_datasets_part2.tar.gz
    [Part3 14M] – high-dimensional_benchmark_datasets_part3.tar.gz

References
* McConaghy, FFX: Fast, Scalable, Deterministic Symbolic Regression
Technology, Genetic Programming Theory and Practice IX, Edited by
R. Riolo, E. Vladislavleva, and J. Moore, Springer, 2011.

* McConaghy, High-Dimensional Statistical Modeling and Analysis of
Custom Integrated Circuits, Proc. Custom Integrated Circuits
Conference, Sept. 2011

License

FFX Software Licence Agreement (like BSD, but adapted for
non-commercial gain only)

Copyright © 2011, Solido Design Automation Inc. Authored by Trent
McConaghy. All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or
without modification, are permitted provided that the following
conditions are met:

Usage does not involve commercial gain.
Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in
the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
distribution.
Neither the name of the associated institutions nor the names of
its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products
derived from this software without specific prior written
permission.
For permissions beyond the scope of this license, please contact
Trent McConaghy (trentmc@solidodesign.com).

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE DEVELOPERS ‘'AS IS’‘ AND ANY
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
DEVELOPERS OR THEIR INSTITUTIONS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE
GOODS OR SERVICES;LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY,
WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Patent pending.

