Rewards

Interface

class ecole.typing.RewardFunction(*args, **kwargs)

Class responsible for extracting rewards.

Reward functions are objects given to the Environment to extract the reward used for learning.

This class presents the interface expected to define a valid reward function. It is not necessary to inherit from this class, as reward functions are defined by structural subtyping. It is exists to support Python type hints.

Note

Rewards, or rather reward offset, are also extracted on reset(). This has no use for learning (since not action has been taken), but is useful when using the cumulative reward sum as a metric.

See also

DataFunction

Reward function are a specific type of generic data function where the data extracted are reward of type float.

__init__(*args, **kwargs)

Initialize self. See help(type(self)) for accurate signature.

before_reset(model: ecole.scip.Model) → None

Reset internal data at the start of episodes.

The method is called on new episodes reset() right before the MDP is actually reset, that is right before the environment calls reset_dynamics().

It is usually used to reset the internal data.

Parameters

model – The Model, model defining the current state of the solver.

extract(model: ecole.scip.Model, done: bool) → float

Extract the reward on the given state.

Extract the reward after transitionning on the new state given by model. The function is reponsible for keeping track of relevant information from previous states. This can safely be done in this method as it will only be called once per state i.e., this method is not a getter and can have side effects.

Parameters

• model – The Model, model defining the current state of the solver.

• done – A flag indicating wether the state is terminal (as decided by the environment).

Returns

The return is passed to the user by the environment.

Listing

The list of reward functions relevant to users is given below.

Is Done

class ecole.reward.IsDone

Single reward on terminal states.

__init__(self: ecole.reward.IsDone) → None

before_reset(self: ecole.reward.IsDone, model: ecole.scip.Model) → None

Do nothing.

extract(self: ecole.reward.IsDone, model: ecole.scip.Model, done: bool = False) → float

Return 1 if the episode is on a terminal state, 0 otherwise.

LP Iterations

class ecole.reward.LpIterations

LP iterations difference.

The reward is defined as the number of iterations spent in solving the Linear Programs associated with the problem since the previous state.

__init__(self: ecole.reward.LpIterations) → None

before_reset(self: ecole.reward.LpIterations, model: ecole.scip.Model) → None

Reset the internal LP iterations count.

extract(self: ecole.reward.LpIterations, model: ecole.scip.Model, done: bool = False) → float

Update the internal LP iteration count and return the difference.

The difference in LP iterations is computed in between calls.

NNodes

class ecole.reward.NNodes

Number of nodes difference.

The reward is defined as the total number of nodes processed since the previous state.

__init__(self: ecole.reward.NNodes) → None

before_reset(self: ecole.reward.NNodes, model: ecole.scip.Model) → None

Reset the internal node count.

extract(self: ecole.reward.NNodes, model: ecole.scip.Model, done: bool = False) → float

Update the internal node count and return the difference.

The difference in number of nodes is computed in between calls.

Solving Time

class ecole.reward.SolvingTime

Solving time difference.

The reward is defined as the number of seconds spent solving the instance since the previous state. The solving time is specific to the operating system: it includes time spent in reset() and time spent waiting on the agent.

__init__(self: ecole.reward.SolvingTime, wall: bool = False) → None

Create a SolvingTime reward function.

Parameters

wall – If true, the wall time will be used. If False (default), the process time will be used.

before_reset(self: ecole.reward.SolvingTime, model: ecole.scip.Model) → None

Reset the internal clock counter.

extract(self: ecole.reward.SolvingTime, model: ecole.scip.Model, done: bool = False) → float

Update the internal clock counter and return the difference.

The difference in solving time is computed in between calls.

Utilities

The following reward functions are used internally by Ecole.

Constant

class ecole.reward.Constant

Constant Reward.

Always returns the value passed in constructor.

__init__(self: ecole.reward.Constant, constant: float = 0.0) → None

before_reset(self: ecole.reward.Constant, model: ecole.scip.Model) → None

Do nothing.

extract(self: ecole.reward.Constant, model: ecole.scip.Model, done: bool = False) → float

Return the constant value.

Arithmetic

class ecole.reward.Arithmetic

Proxy class for doing arithmetic on reward functions.

An object of this class is returned by reward function operators to forward calls to the reward function parameters of the operator.

__init__(self: ecole.reward.Arithmetic, arg0: object, arg1: list, arg2: str) → None

before_reset(self: ecole.reward.Arithmetic, model: object) → None

Reset the reward functions of the operator.

Calls before_reset on all reward functions parameters that were used to create this object.

extract(self: ecole.reward.Arithmetic, model: object, done: bool = False) → float

Obtain the reward of result of the operator.

Calls extract on all reward function parameters that were used to create this object and compute the operation on the results.