Set and get extra parameters

In the previous section we computed an additional parameter for each neuron in the SOM: the petal width. Rather than keeping such parameters in separate variables, we can integrate them into the SOM to easily access them later on.

This is done with the set() method

som.set('petal width', swidth_med)
som.set('petal width uncertainty', swidth_std)

To retrieve later on an extra parameter (e.g. petal width), then one can use the get() method

pwidth = som.get('petal width')

print('Petal width for the SOM neurons:')
print(swidth_med)
print('\nPetal width stored in the SOM:')
print(pwidth)

Results

Petal width for the SOM neurons:
[nan, nan, nan, nan, nan, nan, 3.1, 3.2, nan, nan, nan, 3.5, 3.8, nan, 2.9, nan, nan, 2.3499999999999996, 2.9, 3.0, nan, nan, 2.6500000000000004, 2.8499999999999996, 3.0]

Petal width stored in the SOM:
[nan, nan, nan, nan, nan, nan, 3.1, 3.2, nan, nan, nan, 3.5, 3.8, nan, 2.9, nan, nan, 2.3499999999999996, 2.9, 3.0, nan, nan, 2.6500000000000004, 2.8499999999999996, 3.0]