Ubuntu Manpage: SYNOPSIS

NAME

SYNOPSIS

tablix2 [ options ] file

DESCRIPTION

Output is given in the form of a XML file. This file can be  further  processed  by  tablix2_output  utility  to

OPTIONS

-n N

 Start  N  slave  processes (kernels). This is the number of spawned PVM3 tasks on the virtual machine. A larger
 number means larger total population, steeper convergence graph, more exhaustive search  for  solutions  and  a
 smaller  chance  of premature convergence. However, optimal number depends on the number and speed of computing
 nodes. For a virtual machine composed of reasonably fast machines start with N = 4 * i where i is the number of
 computing nodes. Tablix will try to arrange tasks so that all computing nodes will have equal load. (Be sure to
 set speed field correctly in your PVM3 hostfile). Default is 4.

-l N

 When a population in a slave process (computing node) reaches a local minimum that process will try to  execute
 an algorithm called local search. This is a way to nudge the main genetic algorithm out of a local minimum trap
 if it gets caught in it. However it is usually not efficient for this algorithm to run simultaneously  on  many
 nodes.  This option sets the number of computing nodes that are allowed to simultaneously perform local search.
 Setting N to 0 disables local search and -1 means no limit. Default is 1.

-r

 Restore saved populations instead of starting with random  ones.  Populations  are  loaded  from  a  number  of
 PREFIXsave?.txt files, where PREFIX is the prefix, specified with the -o option. See below.

-o PREFIX

 Specify a prefix for output files. All output files (result, saved populations and convergence graph info) will
 have PREFIX prepended.

-d LEVEL

 Set the verbosity level, where LEVEL is one of the following:

          0    (only fatal error messages are shown),

          1    (fatal and non-fatal errors),

          2    (errors and a progress indicator),

          3    (all of the above plus some informational messages) or

          4    (all of the above plus debug messages).

-h

 Shows a brief help message.

-v

 Shows compile time options, path to modules and copyright information.

-t MINUTES

 Sets a time limit for the genetic algorithm. Tablix will stop if no solution  is  found  after  set  number  of
 minutes.  The  effect is same as when Ctrl-C is pressed. Setting MINUTES to 0 disables this feature. Default is
 disabled. Use this option to prevent Tablix to run indefinitely if there is no possible solution.

-p PARAMETERS

Set algorithm parameters. This is rarely used. The defaults should work fine in most cases. PARAMETERS is a
comma separated string of parameter=value pairs. Following parameters are available:

popsize
Population size of one node in cluster. Bigger populations mean less generations per minute but
also in some cases more optimized results. Default 500.

toursize
Tournament size. Bigger tournament sizes result in faster convergence, which can result in
finding a local instead of a global minimum. Default 3.

mutatepart
What part of the population will mutate each generation. 2 means one half, 3 means one third,
etc. More mutations usually result in slower convergence but can help to avoid local minimums.
Default 4.

randpart
What part of the population will be randomized each generation. Randomizations have the same
effect as mutations. Default 6.

maxequal
How many equally graded timetables can exist at the same time in a population. Smaller values
result in slower convergence but can help to avoid local minimums. Default 20.

finish
Tablix will finish when the number of all mandatory errors in the best solution reaches zero and
this best solution had the same fitness value for N sequential populations. This option enables
you to set the value of N. It has no effect if there are no non-mandatory errors defined (in that
case Tablix finishes as soon as the number of all mandatory errors reaches zero). Default 300.

migrtime
How often do parts of populations migrate between nodes. Smaller value means more migrations,
which results in faster convergence. Default 40.

migrpart
What part of population will migrate between nodes. Default 10.

localtresh
How many equally graded populations to wait before starting local search (if enabled). Default
100.

localstep
Initial step for the local search algorithm. Larger values mean more exhaustive and slower
search. Default 4.

pophint
If the user has loaded an XML file that already contains a partial or a full solution, then a
part of the population can be initialized with this solution. This parameter defines the
percentage of the timetables in the population that will be initialized (other timetables will be
initialized with random values). Values must be between 0 and 100. Larger values mean that the
solution given in the XML file will have a greater possibility of being included in the final
solution. If there is no solution in the XML file then this parameter has no effect. Default 25.

cachesize
This is the maximum number of timetable fitness values that will be held in the fitness cache.
Larger values mean more cache search overhead but may improve cache hit/miss ratio. It is
probably unwise to use caches larger than 32. In general fitness caching will reduce performance
at the start of the genetic algorithm and improve it at the end. Set to 0 to turn off caching.
Default 16.

-i PATH

 Sets the path to fitness modules. By default the module path is set to the location where fitness modules  were
 installed by make install command.

USAGE

When  you  run tablix2 , you actually start the  master  process  that  will spawn the requested number of slave
solution to the given problem. Data in these files can be graphically represented with the tablix2_plot utility.

NOTES

tablix2_kernel is executable for the slave process. It should not be started by hand, unless you know what  your

DIAGNOSTICS

case).