edu.cmu.tetrad.util.dist.Distribution Maven / Gradle / Ivy
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// For information as to what this class does, see the Javadoc, below. //
// Copyright (C) 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, //
// 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2022 by Peter Spirtes, Richard //
// Scheines, Joseph Ramsey, and Clark Glymour. //
// //
// This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify //
// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by //
// the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or //
// (at your option) any later version. //
// //
// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, //
// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of //
// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the //
// GNU General Public License for more details. //
// //
// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License //
// along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software //
// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA //
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
package edu.cmu.tetrad.util.dist;
import edu.cmu.tetrad.util.TetradSerializable;
/**
* Interface for a statistical distribution from which random values can be drawn. Methods are provided for
* setting/getting parameters in the interface. A single random number generator is used throughout Tetrad to ensure
* randomness.
*
* @author josephramsey
*/
@SuppressWarnings("UnusedDeclaration")
public interface Distribution extends TetradSerializable {
long serialVersionUID = 23L;
/**
* Returns the number of parameters in the distribution.
* @return the number of parameters.
*/
int getNumParameters();
/**
* Returns the name of the distribution.
* @return the name.
*/
String getName();
/**
* Sets the index'th parameter to the given value.
*
* @param index Ibid. Must be >= 0 and < # parameters.
* @param value Ibid.
*/
void setParameter(int index, double value);
/**
* Returns the index'th parameter.
* @param index Ibid. Muist be <= 0 and < # parameters.
* @return The Ibid.
*/
double getParameter(int index);
/**
* The name of the index'th parameter, for display purposes.
*
* @param index Ibid. Must be >= 0 and < # parameters.
* @return Ibid.
*/
String getParameterName(int index);
/**
* Returns the next random number from the distribution.
* @return Ibid.
*/
double nextRandom();
}