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

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
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

DIAGNOSTICS

(ideally it should be 2 in this case).