Saving Results
If an experiment produces a result, save enough information to understand it later.
For a small experiment, a text summary is enough:
seed: 7
trials: 100
mean: 0.48
Write a small summary file
Save a result summary
Ready to run.
The exact result matters less than the habit: record the conditions that produced it.
Save configuration and output
At minimum, record:
- seed;
- number of trials or examples;
- important configuration values;
- the metric or result being compared.
Later, a richer experiment may save JSON, CSV, plots, or model files. The principle is the same.
Exercise: What to save
Name one value that should be saved with a randomized result so it can be rerun.
Answer it first, then check.
Hint
Record the value used to initialize the random number generator.
Solution
Save the seed (along with the code, data, and other configuration needed by the run). The seed lets a new generator reproduce the controlled random choices in the same environment.