tfp.distributions.Categorical

Categorical distribution over integers.

Inherits From: AutoCompositeTensorDistribution, Distribution, AutoCompositeTensor

tfp.distributions.Categorical(
    logits=None,
    probs=None,
    dtype=tf.int32,
    force_probs_to_zero_outside_support=False,
    validate_args=False,
    allow_nan_stats=True,
    name='Categorical'
)

Used in the notebooks

Used in the tutorials
Multiple changepoint detection and Bayesian model selection

The Categorical distribution is parameterized by either probabilities or log-probabilities of a set of K classes. It is defined over the integers {0, 1, ..., K-1}.

The Categorical distribution is closely related to the OneHotCategorical and Multinomial distributions. The Categorical distribution can be intuited as generating samples according to argmax{ OneHotCategorical(probs) } itself being identical to argmax{ Multinomial(probs, total_count=1) }.

Mathematical Details

The probability mass function (pmf) is,

pmf(k; pi) = prod_j pi_j**[k == j]

Pitfalls

The number of classes, K, must not exceed:

the largest integer representable by self.dtype, i.e., 2**(mantissa_bits+1) (IEEE 754),
the maximum Tensor index, i.e., 2**31-1.

In other words,

K <= min(2**31-1, {
  tf.float16: 2**11,
  tf.float32: 2**24,
  tf.float64: 2**53 }[param.dtype])

Examples

Creates a 3-class distribution with the 2nd class being most likely.

dist = Categorical(probs=[0.1, 0.5, 0.4])
n = 1e4
empirical_prob = tf.cast(
    tf.histogram_fixed_width(
      dist.sample(int(n)),
      [0., 2],
      nbins=3),
    dtype=tf.float32) / n
# ==> array([ 0.1005,  0.5037,  0.3958], dtype=float32)

Creates a 3-class distribution with the 2nd class being most likely. Parameterized by logits rather than probabilities.

dist = Categorical(logits=np.log([0.1, 0.5, 0.4])
n = 1e4
empirical_prob = tf.cast(
    tf.histogram_fixed_width(
      dist.sample(int(n)),
      [0., 2],
      nbins=3),
    dtype=tf.float32) / n
# ==> array([0.1045,  0.5047, 0.3908], dtype=float32)

Creates a 3-class distribution with the 3rd class being most likely. The distribution functions can be evaluated on counts.

# counts is a scalar.
p = [0.1, 0.4, 0.5]
dist = Categorical(probs=p)
dist.prob(0)  # Shape []

# p will be broadcast to [[0.1, 0.4, 0.5], [0.1, 0.4, 0.5]] to match counts.
counts = [1, 0]
dist.prob(counts)  # Shape [2]

# p will be broadcast to shape [3, 5, 7, 3] to match counts.
counts = [[...]] # Shape [5, 7, 3]
dist.prob(counts)  # Shape [5, 7, 3]

Args
`logits`	An N-D `Tensor`, `N >= 1`, representing the unnormalized log probabilities of a set of Categorical distributions. The first `N - 1` dimensions index into a batch of independent distributions and the last dimension represents a vector of logits for each class. Only one of `logits` or `probs` should be passed in.
`probs`	An N-D `Tensor`, `N >= 1`, representing the probabilities of a set of Categorical distributions. The first `N - 1` dimensions index into a batch of independent distributions and the last dimension represents a vector of probabilities for each class. Only one of `logits` or `probs` should be passed in.
`dtype`	The type of the event samples (default: int32).
`force_probs_to_zero_outside_support`	Python `bool`. When `True`, negative values, values greater than N, and non-integer values are evaluated "strictly": `log_prob` returns `-inf`, `prob` returns `0`. When `False`, the implementation is free to save computation by evaluating something that matches the Categorical pmf at integer values in the support but produces an unrestricted result on other inputs. Default value: `False`.
`validate_args`	Python `bool`, default `False`. When `True` distribution parameters are checked for validity despite possibly degrading runtime performance. When `False` invalid inputs may silently render incorrect outputs.
`allow_nan_stats`	Python `bool`, default `True`. When `True`, statistics (e.g., mean, mode, variance) use the value "`NaN`" to indicate the result is undefined. When `False`, an exception is raised if one or more of the statistic's batch members are undefined.
`name`	Python `str` name prefixed to Ops created by this class.

Attributes
`allow_nan_stats`	Python `bool` describing behavior when a stat is undefined. Stats return +/- infinity when it makes sense. E.g., the variance of a Cauchy distribution is infinity. However, sometimes the statistic is undefined, e.g., if a distribution's pdf does not achieve a maximum within the support of the distribution, the mode is undefined. If the mean is undefined, then by definition the variance is undefined. E.g. the mean for Student's T for df = 1 is undefined (no clear way to say it is either + or - infinity), so the variance = E[(X - mean)**2] is also undefined.
`batch_shape`	Shape of a single sample from a single event index as a `TensorShape`. May be partially defined or unknown. The batch dimensions are indexes into independent, non-identical parameterizations of this distribution.
`dtype`	The `DType` of `Tensor`s handled by this `Distribution`.
`event_shape`	Shape of a single sample from a single batch as a `TensorShape`. May be partially defined or unknown.
`experimental_shard_axis_names`	The list or structure of lists of active shard axis names.
`force_probs_to_zero_outside_support`	Return 0 probabilities on non supported inputs.
`logits`	Input argument `logits`.
`name`	Name prepended to all ops created by this `Distribution`.
`name_scope`	Returns a `tf.name_scope` instance for this class.
`non_trainable_variables`	Sequence of non-trainable variables owned by this module and its submodules. Note: this method uses reflection to find variables on the current instance and submodules. For performance reasons you may wish to cache the result of calling this method if you don't expect the return value to change.
`parameters`	Dictionary of parameters used to instantiate this `Distribution`.
`probs`	Input argument `probs`.
`reparameterization_type`	Describes how samples from the distribution are reparameterized. Currently this is one of the static instances `tfd.FULLY_REPARAMETERIZED` or `tfd.NOT_REPARAMETERIZED`.
`submodules`	Sequence of all sub-modules. Submodules are modules which are properties of this module, or found as properties of modules which are properties of this module (and so on). `a = tf.Module()` `b = tf.Module()` `c = tf.Module()` `a.b = b` `b.c = c` `list(a.submodules) == [b, c]` `True` `list(b.submodules) == [c]` `True` `list(c.submodules) == []` `True`
`trainable_variables`	Sequence of trainable variables owned by this module and its submodules. Note: this method uses reflection to find variables on the current instance and submodules. For performance reasons you may wish to cache the result of calling this method if you don't expect the return value to change.
`validate_args`	Python `bool` indicating possibly expensive checks are enabled.
`variables`	Sequence of variables owned by this module and its submodules. Note: this method uses reflection to find variables on the current instance and submodules. For performance reasons you may wish to cache the result of calling this method if you don't expect the return value to change.

Args
`value`	`float` or `double` `Tensor`.
`name`	Python `str` prepended to names of ops created by this function.
`**kwargs`	Named arguments forwarded to subclass implementation.

Args
`other`	`tfp.distributions.Distribution` instance.
`name`	Python `str` prepended to names of ops created by this function.

Args
`*args`	Passed to implementation `_default_event_space_bijector`.
`**kwargs`	Passed to implementation `_default_event_space_bijector`.

Args
`value`	a `Tensor` valid sample from this distribution family.
`sample_ndims`	Positive `int` Tensor number of leftmost dimensions of `value` that index i.i.d. samples. Default value: `1`.
`validate_args`	Python `bool`, default `False`. When `True`, distribution parameters are checked for validity despite possibly degrading runtime performance. When `False`, invalid inputs may silently render incorrect outputs. Default value: `False`.
`**init_kwargs`	Additional keyword arguments passed through to `cls.__init__`. These take precedence in case of collision with the fitted parameters; for example, `tfd.Normal.experimental_fit([1., 1.], scale=20.)` returns a Normal distribution with `scale=20.` rather than the maximum likelihood parameter `scale=0.`.

Args
`value`	`float` or `double` `Tensor`.
`backward_compat`	`bool` specifying whether to fall back to returning `FullSpace` as the tangent space, and representing R^n with the standard basis.
`**kwargs`	Named arguments forwarded to subclass implementation.

Returns
`log_prob`	a `Tensor` representing the log probability density, of shape `sample_shape(x) + self.batch_shape` with values of type `self.dtype`.
`tangent_space`	a `TangentSpace` object (by default `FullSpace`) representing the tangent space to the manifold at `value`.

Args
`sample_shape`	integer `Tensor` desired shape of samples to draw. Default value: `()`.
`seed`	PRNG seed; see `tfp.random.sanitize_seed` for details. Default value: `None`.
`name`	name to give to the op. Default value: `'sample_and_log_prob'`.
`**kwargs`	Named arguments forwarded to subclass implementation.

Returns
`samples`	a `Tensor`, or structure of `Tensor`s, with prepended dimensions `sample_shape`.
`log_prob`	a `Tensor` of shape `sample_shape(x) + self.batch_shape` with values of type `self.dtype`.

Args
`sample_shape`	`Tensor` or python list/tuple. Desired shape of a call to `sample()`.
`name`	name to prepend ops with.

Args
`dtype`	Optional float `dtype` to assume for continuous-valued parameters. Some constraining bijectors require advance knowledge of the dtype because certain constants (e.g., `tfb.Softplus.low`) must be instantiated with the same dtype as the values to be transformed.
`num_classes`	Optional `int` `Tensor` number of classes to assume when inferring the shape of parameters for categorical-like distributions. Otherwise ignored.

Args
`sample_shape`	0D or 1D `int32` `Tensor`. Shape of the generated samples.
`seed`	PRNG seed; see `tfp.random.sanitize_seed` for details.
`name`	name to give to the op.
`**kwargs`	Named arguments forwarded to subclass implementation.

tfp.distributions.Categorical

Used in the notebooks

Mathematical Details

Pitfalls

Examples

Args

Attributes

Methods

batch_shape_tensor

cdf

copy

covariance

cross_entropy

entropy

event_shape_tensor

experimental_default_event_space_bijector

experimental_fit

experimental_local_measure

experimental_sample_and_log_prob

is_scalar_batch

is_scalar_event

kl_divergence

log_cdf

log_prob

log_survival_function

logits_parameter

mean

mode

param_shapes

param_static_shapes

parameter_properties

prob

probs_parameter

quantile

sample

stddev

survival_function

unnormalized_log_prob

variance

with_name_scope

__getitem__

__iter__

`batch_shape_tensor`

`cdf`

`copy`

`covariance`

`cross_entropy`

`entropy`

`event_shape_tensor`

`experimental_default_event_space_bijector`

`experimental_fit`

`experimental_local_measure`

`experimental_sample_and_log_prob`

`is_scalar_batch`

`is_scalar_event`

`kl_divergence`

`log_cdf`

`log_prob`

`log_survival_function`

`logits_parameter`

`mean`

`mode`

`param_shapes`

`param_static_shapes`

`parameter_properties`

`prob`

`probs_parameter`

`quantile`

`sample`

`stddev`

`survival_function`

`unnormalized_log_prob`

`variance`

`with_name_scope`

`getitem`

`iter`