Entropy

Laplace distribution differential entropy.

The differential entropy (in nats) for a Laplace random variable with location μ and scale b > 0 is

where e is Euler's number.

Installation

npm install @stdlib/stats-base-dists-laplace-entropy

Usage

var entropy = require( '@stdlib/stats-base-dists-laplace-entropy' );

entropy( mu, b )

Returns the differential entropy for a Laplace distribution with location parameter mu and scale parameter b (in nats).

var y = entropy( 2.0, 1.0 );
// returns ~1.693

y = entropy( 0.0, 1.0 );
// returns ~1.693

y = entropy( -1.0, 4.0 );
// returns ~3.079

If provided NaN as any argument, the function returns NaN.

var y = entropy( NaN, 1.0 );
// returns NaN

y = entropy( 0.0, NaN );
// returns NaN

If provided b <= 0, the function returns NaN.

var y = entropy( 0.0, 0.0 );
// returns NaN

y = entropy( 0.0, -1.0 );
// returns NaN

Examples

var uniform = require( '@stdlib/random-array-uniform' );
var logEachMap = require( '@stdlib/console-log-each-map' );
var entropy = require( '@stdlib/stats-base-dists-laplace-entropy' );

var opts = {
    'dtype': 'float64'
};
var mu = uniform( 10, -5.0, 5.0, opts );
var b = uniform( 10, 0.0, 20.0, opts );

logEachMap( 'µ: %0.4f, b: %0.4f, h(X;µ,b): %0.4f', mu, b, entropy );

C APIs

Usage

#include "stdlib/stats/base/dists/laplace/entropy.h"

stdlib_base_dists_laplace_entropy( mu, b )

Returns the differential entropy for a Laplace distribution with location mu and scale b.

double out = stdlib_base_dists_laplace_entropy( 0.0, 1.0 );
// returns ~1.693

The function accepts the following arguments:

• mu: [in] double location parameter.
• b: [in] double scale parameter.

double stdlib_base_dists_laplace_entropy( const double mu, const double b );

Examples

#include "stdlib/stats/base/dists/laplace/entropy.h"
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>

static double random_uniform( const double min, const double max ) {
    double v = (double)rand() / ( (double)RAND_MAX + 1.0 );
    return min + ( v*(max-min) );
}

int main( void ) {
    double mu;
    double b;
    double y;
    int i;

    for ( i = 0; i < 25; i++ ) {
        mu = random_uniform( -5.0, 5.0 );
        b = random_uniform( 0.0, 20.0 );
        y = stdlib_base_dists_laplace_entropy( mu, b );
        printf( "µ: %lf, b: %lf, h(X;µ,b): %lf\n", mu, b, y );
    }
}

Notice

This package is part of stdlib, a standard library for JavaScript and Node.js, with an emphasis on numerical and scientific computing. The library provides a collection of robust, high performance libraries for mathematics, statistics, streams, utilities, and more.

For more information on the project, filing bug reports and feature requests, and guidance on how to develop stdlib, see the main project repository.

Community

License

See LICENSE.

Copyright

Copyright © 2016-2026. The Stdlib Authors.