Important: Read this before posting to this forum
- This forum is for questions related to the use of Apollo. We will answer some general choice modelling questions too, where appropriate, and time permitting. We cannot answer questions about how to estimate choice models with other software packages.
- There is a very detailed manual for Apollo available at http://www.ApolloChoiceModelling.com/manual.html. This contains detailed descriptions of the various Apollo functions, and numerous examples are available at http://www.ApolloChoiceModelling.com/examples.html. In addition, help files are available for all functions, using e.g. ?apollo_mnl
- Before asking a question on the forum, users are kindly requested to follow these steps:
- Check that the same issue has not already been addressed in the forum - there is a search tool.
- Ensure that the correct syntax has been used. For any function, detailed instructions are available directly in Apollo, e.g. by using ?apollo_mnl for apollo_mnl
- Check the frequently asked questions section on the Apollo website, which discusses some common issues/failures. Please see http://www.apollochoicemodelling.com/faq.html
- Make sure that R is using the latest official release of Apollo.
- Users can check which version they are running by entering packageVersion("apollo").
- Then check what is the latest full release (not development version) at http://www.ApolloChoiceModelling.com/code.html.
- To update to the latest official version, just enter install.packages("apollo"). To update to a development version, download the appropriate binary file from http://www.ApolloChoiceModelling.com/code.html, and install the package from file
- If the above steps do not resolve the issue, then users should follow these steps when posting a question:
- provide full details on the issue, including the entire code and output, including any error messages
- posts will not immediately appear on the forum, but will be checked by a moderator first. We check the forum at least twice a week. It may thus take a couple of days for your post to appear and before we reply. There is no need to submit the post multiple times.
Parallel Processing for apollo_searchStart
Parallel Processing for apollo_searchStart
Being able to parallelize the search start execution would drastically increase computational time when evaluating a large number of starting points.
-
- Site Admin
- Posts: 1320
- Joined: 24 Apr 2020, 16:29
Re: Parallel Processing for apollo_searchStart
Hi
yes, we have considered this, but have not had time to think about implementation
Stephane
yes, we have considered this, but have not had time to think about implementation
Stephane
Re: Parallel Processing for apollo_searchStart
I have attempted this, in addition to some other modifications for the searchStart function for my project. One other change was to track why solutions were pruned & how many ended up converging to the global/best solution. I also performed my sampling for the LCL/MXL based on the MNL solution, rather than using MLHS or other sampling methods.
I share my modified script if desired; I tried to keep track of my modifications using comments.
I share my modified script if desired; I tried to keep track of my modifications using comments.
Re: Parallel Processing for apollo_searchStart
Hi Johnathan,
As Stephane mentioned, we thought about making apollo_searchStart, apollo_bootstrap, and apollo_outOfSample perform parallel estimation at the model level before, as opposed to using parallel estimation within each model. However, we did not do it because sharing the pre-processing for each model presented some challenges, and we did not have enough time to look into it back then.
If you are happy to share it, we would love to look at your solution.
Best wishes,
David
As Stephane mentioned, we thought about making apollo_searchStart, apollo_bootstrap, and apollo_outOfSample perform parallel estimation at the model level before, as opposed to using parallel estimation within each model. However, we did not do it because sharing the pre-processing for each model presented some challenges, and we did not have enough time to look into it back then.
If you are happy to share it, we would love to look at your solution.
Best wishes,
David