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Subprocess

As your processes grow in size, you will need some way to manage their complexity. Notice that some Operators are containers; they hide the details of your process, and help to keep your top-level process relatively simple. Inside are one or more subprocesses.

The Cross Validation Operator provides a good illustration: this Operator contains two subprocesses, a training subprocess and a testing subprocess. The design of the icon, as for all Operators containing subprocesses, suggests a hidden layer.

img/cross-validation-operator.png

Double-click the Operator to examine its internals; click on the Process link to return to the parent process.

img/cross-validation-subprocess.png

Question: How do I build my own container, with my own subprocesses?

Answer: The Subprocess Operator is a generic container. Use it to create your own subprocesses.

There are at least two possible approaches to using the Subprocess Operator:

  1. Add the Subprocess Operator to your process. Double-click to open it, then add whatever Operators you like.

  2. Select a subset of Operators from your process with Ctrl-click, then right-click the selection and choose the context menu item Move into new subprocess. A new Subprocess Operator appears, containing your subset of Operators.

Since the Subprocess Operator is completely generic, it's helpful to rename it so that the name reflects your content. Right-click on the Operator, and choose Rename operator from the context menu.

Building blocks

Just as you can save and reuse a process, you can save and reuse a subprocess. The saved subprocess is called a building block. After selecting the subprocess, you can save it in either of the following ways:

  • From the main menu, select Edit > Save as Building Block
  • Right-click the subprocess, and from the context menu select Save as Building Block.

Your building blocks are saved as XML files (extension .buildingblock) in the .RapidMiner folder.

img/save-as-building-block.png

Once you have saved the building block, you can recover it in one of the following ways:

  • From the main menu, select Edit > Insert Building Block. Make sure that in the Process Panel no Operator has been selected, or this menu item will not appear.
  • Right-click inside the Process Panel, and from the context menu select Insert Building Block.

To delete a building block, select Settings > Manage Building Blocks from the main menu, and choose the building block you want to delete.

Notice that some often-used building blocks are bundled with Altair AI Studio. In addition, the Altair RapidMiner Community makes available shared building blocks, which you can find in the Repository under Community Samples > Community Building Blocks.