Introduction¶
The INI file interface is the primary way of using N2D2. It is a simple, lightweight and user-friendly format for specifying a complete DNN-based application, including dataset instanciation, data pre-processing, neural network layers instanciation and post-processing, with all its hyperparameters.
Syntax¶
INI files are simple text files with a basic structure composed of sections, properties and values.
Properties¶
The basic element contained in an INI file is the property. Every property has a name and a value, delimited by an equals sign (=). The name appears to the left of the equals sign.
name=value
Sections¶
Properties may be grouped into arbitrarily named sections. The section name appears on a line by itself, in square brackets ([ and ]). All properties after the section declaration are associated with that section. There is no explicit “end of section” delimiter; sections end at the next section declaration, or the end of the file. Sections may not be nested.
[section]
a=a
b=b
Case sensitivity¶
Section and property names are case sensitive.
Quoted values¶
Values can be quoted, using double quotes. This allows for explicit declaration of whitespace, and/or for quoting of special characters (equals, semicolon, etc.).
Whitespace¶
Leading and trailing whitespace on a line are ignored.
Escape characters¶
A backslash (\) followed immediately by EOL (end-of-line) causes the
line break to be ignored.
Template inclusion syntax¶
Is is possible to recursively include templated INI files. For example, the main INI file can include a templated file like the following:
[inception@inception_model.ini.tpl]
INPUT=layer_x
SIZE=32
ARRAY=2 ; Must be the number of elements in the array
ARRAY[0].P1=Conv
ARRAY[0].P2=32
ARRAY[1].P1=Pool
ARRAY[1].P2=64
If the inception_model.ini.tpl template file content is:
[{{SECTION_NAME}}_layer1]
Input={{INPUT}}
Type=Conv
NbOutputs={{SIZE}}
[{{SECTION_NAME}}_layer2]
Input={{SECTION_NAME}}_layer1
Type=Fc
NbOutputs={{SIZE}}
{% block ARRAY %}
[{{SECTION_NAME}}_array{{#}}]
Prop1=Config{{.P1}}
Prop2={{.P2}}
{% endblock %}
The resulting equivalent content for the main INI file will be:
[inception_layer1]
Input=layer_x
Type=Conv
NbOutputs=32
[inception_layer2]
Input=inception_layer1
Type=Fc
NbOutputs=32
[inception_array0]
Prop1=ConfigConv
Prop2=32
[inception_array1]
Prop1=ConfigPool
Prop2=64
The SECTION_NAME template parameter is automatically generated from
the name of the including section (before @).
Variable substitution¶
{{VAR}} is replaced by the value of the VAR template parameter.
Control statements¶
Control statements are between {% and %} delimiters.
block¶
{% block ARRAY %} … {% endblock %}
The # template parameter is automatically generated from the
{% block ... %} template control statement and corresponds to the
current item position, starting from 0.
for¶
{% for VAR in range([START, ]END]) %} … {% endfor %}
If START is not specified, the loop begins at 0 (first value of
VAR). The last value of VAR is END-1.
if¶
{% if VAR OP [VALUE] %} … [{% else %}] …
{% endif %}
OP may be ==, !=, exists or not_exists.
include¶
{% include FILENAME %}
Global parameters¶
Option [default value] |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Default layers model. Can be |
|
Default layers data type. Can be |
|
If true (1), batch normalization is automatically inserted after each convolution when not already present |
Comments¶
Semicolons (
;) or number sign (#) at the beginning or in the middle of the line indicate a comment. Comments are ignored.