DataBlock<VALUE>

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DataBlock is a base class of data block management and storage; it provides a basic data access interface, suitable for the write once, read multiple times scenario (for example, storing and accessing training data set)

Functionality

DataBlock can be viewed as an "array" that can grow dynamically, where newly added objects can only be appended to the end of the array; it maintains read/write index information internally. Angel implemented 3 basic interfaces for different data storage media:

• MemoryDataBlock: store data in memory; support random access and sequential access
• DiskDataBlock: store data in local disk; currently only support sequential access
• MemoryAndDiskDataBlock: try storing data in memory first, but write data to local disk when running out of memory

Core Interfaces

1. registerType

   • Definition: void registerType(Class<VALUE> valueClass)
   • Functionality: sets the object type for storage
   • Parameters:
     • Class<VALUE> valueClass: type of the object to be stored
   • Return value: none

2. read

   • Definition: VALUE read()
   • Functionality: adds 1 to read index; reads the object at the index position; returns null when it reaches the end of DataBlock
   • Parameters: none
   • Return value: next object or null

3. loopingRead

   • Definition: VALUE loopingRead()
   • Functionality: calls read; if it reaches the end, calls resetIndex and restarts from the beginning position to ensure reading a value
   • Parameters: none
   • Return value: next object

4. get

   • Definition: VALUE get(int index)
   • Functionality: reads the object at the specified position; currently only implemented for MemoryDataBlock; doesn't modify the read index
   • Parameters:
     • int index: object index
   • Return value: next object or null if it reaches the end of DataBlock

5. put

   • Definition: void put(VALUE value)
   • Functionality: adds an object at the write index and increase write index by 1
   • Parameters:
     • VALUE value: object to be added
   • Return value: none

6. resetReadIndex

   • Definition: void resetReadIndex()
   • Functionality: sets read index to 0, next call of read will start from the beginning position of DataBlock
   • Parameters: none
   • Return value: none

7. clean

   • Definition: void clean()
   • Functionality: deletes all objects and sets read/write indices to 0
   • Parameters: none
   • Return value: none

8. shuffle

   • Definition: void shuffle()
   • Functionality: shuffles the order of objects in DataBlock; currently only supported in the MemoryDataBlock interface
   • Parameters: none
   • Return value: none