stan-dev / stan-dev/math

bernoulli_rng - add signature `ints bernoulli_rng(real theta)`

Open
#3,044 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

distributions good first issue
Dominant language
C++
Stars
839
Forks
220
Avg merge
2d 4h
Merged PRs (30d)
14

Description

Description

Add implementation of bernoulli_rng which generates an array of bernoulli outcomes for a single value of theta.

Example

Currently, it is necessary to use a loop, e.g.

  real theta = beta_rng(1, 1);
  array[N] int y; 
  for (n in 1:N) {
    y[n] = bernoulli_rng(theta);
  }

The vectorized alternative is:

  real theta = beta_rng(1, 1);
  array[N] int y; 
   y = bernoulli_rng(rep_array(theta, N_obs));

This is problematic for 2 reasons:

  • requires extra memory allocation for the array of thetas
  • not as easy to grok

Expected Output

It would be nice to be able to do the following:

  real theta = beta_rng(1, 1);
  array[N] int y; 
   y = bernoulli_rng(rtheta);
Current Version:

v4.8.1

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by locating the existing bernoulli_rng implementation and its vectorized RNG tests. Add coverage for a scalar theta producing an array of outcomes, then run the relevant bernoulli_rng tests; done means the new signature works without constructing an array of repeated theta values.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
backend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.