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Autores principales: Zhao, Shipu, Lessard, Laurent, Udell, Madeleine
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.04684
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author Zhao, Shipu
Lessard, Laurent
Udell, Madeleine
author_facet Zhao, Shipu
Lessard, Laurent
Udell, Madeleine
contents When are two algorithms the same? How can we be sure a recently proposed algorithm is novel, and not a minor twist on an existing method? In this paper, we present a framework for reasoning about equivalence between a broad class of iterative algorithms, with a focus on algorithms designed for convex optimization. We propose several notions of what it means for two algorithms to be equivalent, and provide computationally tractable means to detect equivalence. Our main definition, oracle equivalence, states that two algorithms are equivalent if they result in the same sequence of calls to the function oracles (for suitable initialization). Borrowing from control theory, we use state-space realizations to represent algorithms and characterize algorithm equivalence via transfer functions. Our framework can also identify and characterize some algorithm transformations including permutations of the update equations, repetition of the iteration, and conjugation of some of the function oracles in the algorithm. To support the paper, we have developed a software package named Linnaeus that implements the framework to identify other iterative algorithms that are equivalent to an input algorithm. More broadly, this framework and software advances the goal of making mathematics searchable.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2105_04684
institution arXiv
publishDate 2021
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An automatic system to detect equivalence between iterative algorithms
Zhao, Shipu
Lessard, Laurent
Udell, Madeleine
Optimization and Control
When are two algorithms the same? How can we be sure a recently proposed algorithm is novel, and not a minor twist on an existing method? In this paper, we present a framework for reasoning about equivalence between a broad class of iterative algorithms, with a focus on algorithms designed for convex optimization. We propose several notions of what it means for two algorithms to be equivalent, and provide computationally tractable means to detect equivalence. Our main definition, oracle equivalence, states that two algorithms are equivalent if they result in the same sequence of calls to the function oracles (for suitable initialization). Borrowing from control theory, we use state-space realizations to represent algorithms and characterize algorithm equivalence via transfer functions. Our framework can also identify and characterize some algorithm transformations including permutations of the update equations, repetition of the iteration, and conjugation of some of the function oracles in the algorithm. To support the paper, we have developed a software package named Linnaeus that implements the framework to identify other iterative algorithms that are equivalent to an input algorithm. More broadly, this framework and software advances the goal of making mathematics searchable.
title An automatic system to detect equivalence between iterative algorithms
topic Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.04684