distributions.rst

Distributions

Distribution objects represent probability distributions, they have two principle uses:

1. Samples can be generated from a distribution by passing a distribution object to the :ref:`sample <sample>` operator.

2. The logarithm of the probability (or density) that a distribution assigns to a value can be computed using dist.score(val). For example:

   Bernoulli({p: .1}).score(true); // returns Math.log(.1)
   

Several :ref:`primitive distributions <primitive-distributions>` are built into the language. Further distributions are created by performing :ref:`marginal inference <inference>`.

Primitives