Can we get a standard optimised function to map an array's elements randomly with n elements of another array each?

General Usage
1

Can we an optimised standard function in the library for mapping/linking w elements of an array with n elements of another array each?
Meaning a space’s elements should randomly get connected to another space with n links each? Or, maybe, further give parameter to introduce ordered links instead of the randomly chosen links?

2

Please provide a minimal working example of at least the input and the output that you would expect.

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function rand1DLinks(layer1len::Int, layer2len::Int, N::Int)
    connectionsMap::AbstractArray = []
    for i = 1:layer2len
        push!(connectionsMap, rand(1:layer1len, N))
    end
    connectionsMap
end

This is an example function for 1D arrays which are not mapped according to topographic map rules, just random connections.

Can we have an optimized standard function for linking m x n array with j x k array?
The return type could a Dict() but an array format as in the above example seems more convenient. :thinking:

4

Sorry, but I don’t understand what the issue is. You ask for a “standard function in the library”, which library? You may want to open an issue for that library, but this hardly seems like something that would warrant a function (perhaps I am missing some context).

And it seems very straightforward to implement and is already fairly close to being “optimal”. You are essentially generating a bunch of random numbers in 1:layer1len. You could make this faster by collecting into a matrix, which you preallocate, eg

connectionsMap = Matrix{Int}(layer2len, N)  # reuse this
rand!(connectionsMap, 1:layer1len)          # update when needed
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5

How will the same routine go about for m x n matrix? Where instead of layer1len and layer2n you are given m x n for both layers. So those are two Int values… Which won’t go in the Matrix argument as we still have N.

6

I would really like to help you, but I don’t understand the specs.

If you want help with optimizing something, please provide working code, eg with loops.

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It is similar to the function you gave except for arrays that are not limited to one dimension , like m x n, so that every element of array A is connected to N elements of another array B, but in such a way that every element of array B has some connections and no element gets unfair connections.
I searched online and it seems that Self Organising Maps come closest to this I guess.

I found some images that represent this idea, kind of:
Pic1
Pic2