parJagsModel function

Create a JAGS model object on parallel workers

parJagsModel is used to create an object representing a Bayesian graphical model, specified with a BUGS-language description of the prior distribution, and a set of data.

parJagsModel(cl, name, file, data=sys.frame(sys.parent()),
    inits, n.chains = 1, n.adapt=1000, quiet=FALSE)

Arguments

• cl: A cluster object created by makeCluster, or an integer. It can also be NULL, see parDosa. Size of the cluster must be equal to or larger than n.chains.
• name: character, name for the model to be assigned on the workers.
• file: the name of the file containing a description of the model in the JAGS dialect of the BUGS language. Alternatively, file can be a readable text-mode connection, or a complete URL. It can be also a function or a custommodel object.
• data: a list or environment containing the data. Any numeric objects in data corresponding to node arrays used in file are taken to represent the values of observed nodes in the model
• inits: optional specification of initial values in the form of a list or a function (see Initialization on help page of jags.model). If omitted, initial values will be generated automatically. It is an error to supply an initial value for an observed node.
• n.chains: the number of parallel chains for the model
• n.adapt: the number of iterations for adaptation. See adapt for details. If n.adapt = 0 then no adaptation takes place.
• quiet: if TRUE then messages generated during compilation will be suppressed. Effect of this argument is not visible on the master process.

Returns

parJagsModel returns an object inheriting from class jags

which can be used to generate dependent samples from the posterior distribution of the parameters. These jags models are residing on the workers, thus updating/sampling is possible.

Length of cl must be equal to or greater than n.chains. RNG seed generation takes place first on the master, and chains then initialized on each worker by distributing inits and single chained models.

An object of class jags is a list of functions that share a common environment, see jags.model for details. Data cloning information is attached to the returned object if data argument has n.clones attribute.

Author(s)

Peter Solymos, solymos@ualberta.ca

See Also

Original sequential function in rjags: jags.model

Sequential dclone-ified version: jagsModel

See example on help page of parCodaSamples.