Node Discretization – Multi-Purpose Box

When the multi-purpose selector of a node dialog box is set to Discretization, you can enter or view the discretization thresholds of a continuous variable (if the variable is discrete then the menu won't have a "Discretization" choice).  You can also do this operation using the Interval setting boxes, which have the same capabilities and effect.  However, usually the below method is more convenient, especially if you want to enter many evenly spaced values, or if you want to paste in the thresholds of all the states at once, which you have copied from another node or even from another program.

You simply enter all the interval thresholds into the box, separated by space(s), tabs, commas or on separate lines.  There should be one more number than the desired number of states, since the first and last number specify the minimum and maximum values the variable can take (they can be "infinity" or "-infinity" if desired).  If the number of states implied by the list is different from the node’s current number of states, the node’s number of states will be changed.

Shortcut Notation:  If you want to create a list of evenly spaced values there are a few shortcut methods you can use. Each of the following special notations will expand into a list of numbers as described:

[b, e] / n will form a list beginning with b, ending with e, and having n intervals (so n + 1 numbers).

[b, e] + d will form a list beginning with b, ending with e, and each separated by d (except the last separation may be less if e – b is not evenly divisible by d).

[b, e] /L n will form a list beginning with b, ending with e, and divided logarithmically into n intervals (so n + 1 numbers).

[b, e] +% d will form a list beginning with b, ending with e, and each being d percent bigger than the previous (except the last may be less than d % bigger, if they don’t fit evenly).

Note:  If e is less than b then a decreasing list will be formed, but n and d should still be entered as positive numbers. The closing bracket may be replaced with a closing parenthesis if desired, to indicate excluding the endpoint e from the list formed. More than one of the above notations can be combined to form a longer list.

Examples:  Each line below is a complete example entry: