Introducing machine learning
In traditional programming, we provide data and some rules as input to our program to get the desired output. Machine learning is a fundamentally different programming approach, in which the data and the expected output are provided as input to produce a set of rules. This is called a model in machine learning nomenclature. This concept is illustrated in the following diagram:
Figure 13.1 – Traditional programming versus machine learning programming
To understand how machine learning works, we need to familiarize ourselves with its core components or elements:
- Dataset: Without a good set of data, machine learning is nothing. Good data is the real power of machine learning. It has to be collected from different environments and cover various situations to represent a model close to a real-world process or system. Another requirement for data is that it has to be large, and by large we mean thousands of records. Moreover...
