Machine Learning With Presto

Presto is an invaluable tool for accessing and combining data, and performing feature engineering and feature extraction, in a scalable way ready for machine learning and other analytics. Doing these tasks using familiar SQL is the fastest, most efficient way to prepare data for ML. Presto’s connectors, SQL engine and query federation capability give data scientists ready access to the data they need.

Presto also has functions specific to Machine Learning. These functions provide machine learning functionality as an aggregation function, enabling you to train Support Vector Machine (SVM) based classifiers and regressors for supervised learning problems. Note SVM is the only supported model at this time.

In this short article we’ll take a look at these Presto ML Functions:

learn_classifier() – Receives training data and generates the model.
classify() – Receives the model & test data and returns the prediction.
features() – Constructs a feature from numerical values. A feature is a representation of a data set composed of a sequence of pairs of labels.

There follows a worked Classification example showing how these functions are used.

This is how the features function is used to construct a numbered sequence of elements composed of numerical values:

presto:default> SELECT features(2.0, 4.0, 6.5) AS test_features;
     test_features     
-----------------------
 {0=2.0, 1=4.0, 2=6.5} 
(1 row)

The returned features (correct name for which is an “N-dimensional vector”) are represented as a map-type value, whose key is an index of each feature.
Let’s create some test data and demonstrate all the functions at work. The advantage of using Presto is that the data could be stored practically anywhere, and for more complex problems there may be several datasets stored across different data stores which Presto can effortlessly combine for us. In this (well known) flower dataset, species is a label and sepal_length, sepal_width etc are features. This data describes three species of Iris:

use ahana_hive.default;
 
CREATE TABLE iris (
  id int
, sepal_length double
, sepal_width double
, petal_length double
, petal_width double
, species varchar
);
 
INSERT INTO iris VALUES 
(1, 5.1, 3.5, 1.4, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(2, 4.9, 3, 1.4, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(3, 4.7, 3.2, 1.3, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(4, 4.6, 3.1, 1.5, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(5, 5, 3.6, 1.4, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(6, 5.4, 3.9, 1.7, 0.4, 'Iris-setosa'),
(7, 4.6, 3.4, 1.4, 0.3, 'Iris-setosa'),
(8, 5, 3.4, 1.5, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(9, 4.4, 2.9, 1.4, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(10, 4.9, 3.1, 1.5, 0.1, 'Iris-setosa'),
(11, 5.4, 3.7, 1.5, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(12, 4.8, 3.4, 1.6, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(13, 4.8, 3, 1.4, 0.1, 'Iris-setosa'),
(14, 4.3, 3, 1.1, 0.1, 'Iris-setosa'),
(15, 5.8, 4, 1.2, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(16, 5.7, 4.4, 1.5, 0.4, 'Iris-setosa'),
(17, 5.4, 3.9, 1.3, 0.4, 'Iris-setosa'),
(18, 5.1, 3.5, 1.4, 0.3, 'Iris-setosa'),
(19, 5.7, 3.8, 1.7, 0.3, 'Iris-setosa'),
(20, 5.1, 3.8, 1.5, 0.3, 'Iris-setosa'),
(21, 5.4, 3.4, 1.7, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(22, 5.1, 3.7, 1.5, 0.4, 'Iris-setosa'),
(23, 4.6, 3.6, 1, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(24, 5.1, 3.3, 1.7, 0.5, 'Iris-setosa'),
(25, 4.8, 3.4, 1.9, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(26, 5, 3, 1.6, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(27, 5, 3.4, 1.6, 0.4, 'Iris-setosa'),
(28, 5.2, 3.5, 1.5, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(29, 5.2, 3.4, 1.4, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(30, 4.7, 3.2, 1.6, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(31, 4.8, 3.1, 1.6, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(32, 5.4, 3.4, 1.5, 0.4, 'Iris-setosa'),
(33, 5.2, 4.1, 1.5, 0.1, 'Iris-setosa'),
(34, 5.5, 4.2, 1.4, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(35, 4.9, 3.1, 1.5, 0.1, 'Iris-setosa'),
(36, 5, 3.2, 1.2, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(37, 5.5, 3.5, 1.3, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(38, 4.9, 3.1, 1.5, 0.1, 'Iris-setosa'),
(39, 4.4, 3, 1.3, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(40, 5.1, 3.4, 1.5, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(41, 5, 3.5, 1.3, 0.3, 'Iris-setosa'),
(42, 4.5, 2.3, 1.3, 0.3, 'Iris-setosa'),
(43, 4.4, 3.2, 1.3, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(44, 5, 3.5, 1.6, 0.6, 'Iris-setosa'),
(45, 5.1, 3.8, 1.9, 0.4, 'Iris-setosa'),
(46, 4.8, 3, 1.4, 0.3, 'Iris-setosa'),
(47, 5.1, 3.8, 1.6, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(48, 4.6, 3.2, 1.4, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(49, 5.3, 3.7, 1.5, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(50, 5, 3.3, 1.4, 0.2, 'Iris-setosa'),
(51, 7, 3.2, 4.7, 1.4, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(52, 6.4, 3.2, 4.5, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(53, 6.9, 3.1, 4.9, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(54, 5.5, 2.3, 4, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(55, 6.5, 2.8, 4.6, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(56, 5.7, 2.8, 4.5, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(57, 6.3, 3.3, 4.7, 1.6, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(58, 4.9, 2.4, 3.3, 1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(59, 6.6, 2.9, 4.6, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(60, 5.2, 2.7, 3.9, 1.4, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(61, 5, 2, 3.5, 1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(62, 5.9, 3, 4.2, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(63, 6, 2.2, 4, 1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(64, 6.1, 2.9, 4.7, 1.4, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(65, 5.6, 2.9, 3.6, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(66, 6.7, 3.1, 4.4, 1.4, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(67, 5.6, 3, 4.5, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(68, 5.8, 2.7, 4.1, 1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(69, 6.2, 2.2, 4.5, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(70, 5.6, 2.5, 3.9, 1.1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(71, 5.9, 3.2, 4.8, 1.8, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(72, 6.1, 2.8, 4, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(73, 6.3, 2.5, 4.9, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(74, 6.1, 2.8, 4.7, 1.2, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(75, 6.4, 2.9, 4.3, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(76, 6.6, 3, 4.4, 1.4, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(77, 6.8, 2.8, 4.8, 1.4, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(78, 6.7, 3, 5, 1.7, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(79, 6, 2.9, 4.5, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(80, 5.7, 2.6, 3.5, 1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(81, 5.5, 2.4, 3.8, 1.1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(82, 5.5, 2.4, 3.7, 1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(83, 5.8, 2.7, 3.9, 1.2, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(84, 6, 2.7, 5.1, 1.6, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(85, 5.4, 3, 4.5, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(86, 6, 3.4, 4.5, 1.6, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(87, 6.7, 3.1, 4.7, 1.5, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(88, 6.3, 2.3, 4.4, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(89, 5.6, 3, 4.1, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(90, 5.5, 2.5, 4, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(91, 5.5, 2.6, 4.4, 1.2, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(92, 6.1, 3, 4.6, 1.4, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(93, 5.8, 2.6, 4, 1.2, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(94, 5, 2.3, 3.3, 1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(95, 5.6, 2.7, 4.2, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(96, 5.7, 3, 4.2, 1.2, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(97, 5.7, 2.9, 4.2, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(98, 6.2, 2.9, 4.3, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(99, 5.1, 2.5, 3, 1.1, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(100, 5.7, 2.8, 4.1, 1.3, 'Iris-versicolor'),
(101, 6.3, 3.3, 6, 2.5, 'Iris-virginica'),
(102, 5.8, 2.7, 5.1, 1.9, 'Iris-virginica'),
(103, 7.1, 3, 5.9, 2.1, 'Iris-virginica'),
(104, 6.3, 2.9, 5.6, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(105, 6.5, 3, 5.8, 2.2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(106, 7.6, 3, 6.6, 2.1, 'Iris-virginica'),
(107, 4.9, 2.5, 4.5, 1.7, 'Iris-virginica'),
(108, 7.3, 2.9, 6.3, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(109, 6.7, 2.5, 5.8, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(110, 7.2, 3.6, 6.1, 2.5, 'Iris-virginica'),
(111, 6.5, 3.2, 5.1, 2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(112, 6.4, 2.7, 5.3, 1.9, 'Iris-virginica'),
(113, 6.8, 3, 5.5, 2.1, 'Iris-virginica'),
(114, 5.7, 2.5, 5, 2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(115, 5.8, 2.8, 5.1, 2.4, 'Iris-virginica'),
(116, 6.4, 3.2, 5.3, 2.3, 'Iris-virginica'),
(117, 6.5, 3, 5.5, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(118, 7.7, 3.8, 6.7, 2.2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(119, 7.7, 2.6, 6.9, 2.3, 'Iris-virginica'),
(120, 6, 2.2, 5, 1.5, 'Iris-virginica'),
(121, 6.9, 3.2, 5.7, 2.3, 'Iris-virginica'),
(122, 5.6, 2.8, 4.9, 2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(123, 7.7, 2.8, 6.7, 2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(124, 6.3, 2.7, 4.9, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(125, 6.7, 3.3, 5.7, 2.1, 'Iris-virginica'),
(126, 7.2, 3.2, 6, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(127, 6.2, 2.8, 4.8, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(128, 6.1, 3, 4.9, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(129, 6.4, 2.8, 5.6, 2.1, 'Iris-virginica'),
(130, 7.2, 3, 5.8, 1.6, 'Iris-virginica'),
(131, 7.4, 2.8, 6.1, 1.9, 'Iris-virginica'),
(132, 7.9, 3.8, 6.4, 2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(133, 6.4, 2.8, 5.6, 2.2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(134, 6.3, 2.8, 5.1, 1.5, 'Iris-virginica'),
(135, 6.1, 2.6, 5.6, 1.4, 'Iris-virginica'),
(136, 7.7, 3, 6.1, 2.3, 'Iris-virginica'),
(137, 6.3, 3.4, 5.6, 2.4, 'Iris-virginica'),
(138, 6.4, 3.1, 5.5, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(139, 6, 3, 4.8, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica'),
(140, 6.9, 3.1, 5.4, 2.1, 'Iris-virginica'),
(141, 6.7, 3.1, 5.6, 2.4, 'Iris-virginica'),
(142, 6.9, 3.1, 5.1, 2.3, 'Iris-virginica'),
(143, 5.8, 2.7, 5.1, 1.9, 'Iris-virginica'),
(144, 6.8, 3.2, 5.9, 2.3, 'Iris-virginica'),
(145, 6.7, 3.3, 5.7, 2.5, 'Iris-virginica'),
(146, 6.7, 3, 5.2, 2.3, 'Iris-virginica'),
(147, 6.3, 2.5, 5, 1.9, 'Iris-virginica'),
(148, 6.5, 3, 5.2, 2, 'Iris-virginica'),
(149, 6.2, 3.4, 5.4, 2.3, 'Iris-virginica'),
(150, 5.9, 3, 5.1, 1.8, 'Iris-virginica');

Next we use this dataset and the classify(), features() and learn_classifier() functions to predict the species of flower based on some arbitrary features (measurements) that we provide. The exact features used in the following example are not present in the iris dataset so it’s not a simple lookup – the model predicts the label (the flower species) for us:

select classify(features(5.8, 3, 5.1, 1.8), model) AS prediction 
FROM (
 SELECT learn_classifier(species, features(sepal_length, sepal_width, petal_length, petal_width)) AS model FROM iris
 ) t;
 
   prediction   
----------------
 Iris-virginica 
(1 row)

The model predicts our measurements are an “Iris-virginica”. How does it work? The classify() function returns the predicted label by using the trained model. The trained model is constructed by the learn_classifier() function. Using this approach means we cannot save the model so we pass it using the nested query (SELECT learn_classifier…) each time.

We can optionally view the trained model, but it does not make much sense to a human. Run the function to train the classification model again but omit the classify() function:

SELECT learn_classifier(species, features(sepal_length, sepal_width, petal_length, petal_width) ) AS model
FROM iris;
 
                      model                      
-------------------------------------------------
 3c 43 6c 61 73 73 69 66 69 65 72 28 76 61 72 63 
 68 61 72 29 3e                                  
(1 row)

The trained model is returned in a serialized format.

We hope the above Presto Machine Learning article and Classification example proves useful. Stay tuned for a follow-up article introducing Regression – another type of supervised learning problem that Presto can help with.

Machine Learning With Presto

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