I need to generate a vector between 0 and 10 such that points are concetrated around 5. Something like:
[0.0 2.0 3.5 4.5 5 5.5 6.5 8.0 10.0]
Is there any built-in function or package to do something like this?
How about [p for p in sort(2*randn(100).+5) if 0<=p<=10]. Adjust 2 as needed.
4 Likes
Let’s generalize that grid:
function expanding_grid(mid, left, right, step, α)
v = Vector{typeof(mid + α*step)}()
# left half
let s = step, a = mid - s
while a ≥ left
push!(v, a)
s += α
a -= s
end
end
reverse!(v)
push!(v, mid)
let s = step, a = mid + s
while a ≤ right
push!(v, a)
s += α
a += s
end
end
v
end
julia> expanding_grid(5, 0, 10, 0.5, 0.5)
9-element Array{Float64,1}:
0.0
2.0
3.5
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.5
8.0
10.0
3 Likes
Thanks. I know how to write a function that generates that grid vector too. One could also think of using a logarithmic scale or even the normal distribution. My question is whether there is something built-in that can be used.
Not that we know of, apparently.
This is something rather specialized, so while it is possible that some library would do something similar, I consider it unlikely. Maybe someone will point out something though.
But I am not sure why it is such an important consideration, and why you were expecting a “built-in” function (of which Julia has precious few — everything is gradually being moved into packages) for this.
1 Like
Thank you.
The reason I’m asking is because I rather use something in a package/built-in than do it myself. The reason is that code from packages/built-in is reviewed by other people so it’s less likely to contain errors.
Not necessarily a good assumption. Write tests to make sure the code is correct; don’t assume that other people will do that for you.
3 Likes
I concur with @rdeits: test coverage is the best signal of code quality. Also, many Julia projects are single-person with occasional other contributors. Only major packages, Base and the standard libraries get a more thorough review for the whole codebase.
But for this specific function, you provided a test case already, so you are all set — just check that in your tests.
2 Likes
Any pointers on how to test code systematically and efficiently?
Maybe the nodes from a guassian quadrature? These start from -1 to 1 centered around 0, but you can scale and shift them.
julia> using FastGaussQuadrature
julia> nodes, weights = gausslegendre( 10 )
([-0.973907, -0.865063, -0.67941, -0.433395, -0.148874, 0.148874, 0.433395, 0.67941, 0.865063, 0.973907], [0.0666713, 0.149451, 0.219086, 0.269267, 0.295524, 0.295524, 0.269267, 0.219086, 0.149451, 0.0666713])
julia> nodes5 = 5nodes .+ 5
10-element Array{Float64,1}:
0.13046735741414128
0.6746831665550772
1.6029521585048778
2.8330230293537637
4.255628305091844
5.744371694908156
7.166976970646236
8.397047841495123
9.325316833444923
9.86953264258586
1 Like
Oops, that was actually concentrated at the edges. Use guasshermite instead.
julia> nodes, weights = gausshermite( 10 )
([-3.43616, -2.53273, -1.75668, -1.03661, -0.342901, 0.342901, 1.03661, 1.75668, 2.53273, 3.43616], [7.64043e-6, 0.00134365, 0.0338744, 0.240139, 0.610863, 0.610863, 0.240139, 0.0338744, 0.00134365, 7.64043e-6])
julia> nodes10 = (nodes .- minimum(nodes)) ./ (maximum(nodes)/(10/2))
10-element Array{Float64,1}:
0.0
1.3145890707624264
2.4438266847577346
3.491614046470373
4.501039801469247
5.498960198530754
6.508385953529628
7.556173315242267
8.685410929237573
10.0