Feature (machine learning)

In machine learning and pattern recognition, a feature is an individual measurable property or characteristic of a phenomenon.[1] Choosing informative, discriminating, and independent features is crucial to produce effective algorithms for pattern recognition, classification, and regression tasks. Features are usually numeric, but other types such as strings and graphs are used in syntactic pattern recognition, after some pre-processing step such as one-hot encoding. The concept of "features" is related to that of explanatory variables used in statistical techniques such as linear regression.

  1. ^ Bishop, Christopher (2006). Pattern recognition and machine learning. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 0-387-31073-8.