Orange (software)

Orange is an open-source data visualization, machine learning and data mining toolkit. It features a visual
programming front-end for explorative rapid qualitative data analysis and interactive data visualization.[5]

Orange

Developer(s) University of Ljubljana

Initial release 10 October 1996[1]

Stable release 3.29.2[2]

/ 8 June 2021

Repository Orange Repository (https://github.com/biolab/orange3)

Written in Python, Cython, C++, C

Operating system Cross-platform

Type Machine learning, Data mining, Data visualization, Data

analysis

License GPLv3 or later[3][4]

Website orange.biolab.si (https://orange.biolab.si)

A typical workflow in Orange 3.

Description

Orange is a component-based visual programming software package for data visualization, machine learning, data
mining, and data analysis.

Orange components are called widgets and they range from simple data visualization, subset selection, and
preprocessing, to empirical evaluation of learning algorithms
and predictive modeling.

Visual programming is implemented through an interface in which workflows are created by linking predefined or
user-designed widgets, while advanced users can use Orange as a Python library for data manipulation and widget
alteration.[6]

Software

Orange is an open-source software package released under GPL. Versions up to 3.0 include core components in
C++ with wrappers in Python are available on GitHub. From version 3.0 onwards, Orange uses common Python
open-source libraries for scientific computing, such as numpy, scipy and scikit-learn, while its graphical user
interface operates within the cross-platform Qt framework.

The default installation includes a number of machine learning, preprocessing and data visualization algorithms in
6 widget sets (data, visualize, classify, regression, evaluate and unsupervised). Additional functionalities are
available as add-ons (bioinformatics, data fusion and text-mining).

Orange is supported on macOS, Windows and Linux and can also be installed from the Python Package Index
repository (pip install Orange3).
As of May 2018 the stable version is 3.13 and runs with Python 3, while the legacy version 2.7 that runs with
Python 2.7 is still available.[7]

The current downloadable version (tested), as of November 2021, on the website, is version 3.30.2.

Features

Orange consists of a canvas interface onto which the user places widgets and creates a data analysis workflow.
Widgets offer basic functionalities such as reading the data, showing a data table, selecting features, training
predictors, comparing learning algorithms, visualizing data elements, etc. The user can interactively explore
visualizations or feed the selected subset into other widgets.

Classification Tree widget in Orange 3.0

Canvas: graphical front-end for data analysis

Widgets:
Data: widgets for data input, data filtering, sampling, imputation, feature manipulation and feature
selection

Visualize: widgets for common visualization (box plot, histograms, scatter plot) and multivariate
visualization (mosaic display, sieve diagram).

Classify: a set of supervised machine learning algorithms for classification

Regression: a set of supervised machine learning algorithms for regression

Evaluate: cross-validation, sampling-based procedures, reliability estimation and scoring of prediction

methods
 Unsupervised: unsupervised learning algorithms for clustering (k-means, hierarchical clustering) and
data projection techniques (multidimensional scaling, principal component analysis, correspondence
analysis).

Add-ons:
Associate: widgets for mining frequent itemsets and association rule learning

Bioinformatics: widgets for gene set analysis, enrichment, and access to pathway libraries

Data fusion: widgets for fusing different data sets, collective matrix factorization, and exploration
of latent factors

Educational: widgets for teaching machine learning concepts, such as k-means clustering,
polynomial regression, stochastic gradient descent, ...

Geo: widgets for working with geospatial data

Image analytics: widgets for working with images and ImageNet embeddings

Network: widgets for graph and network analysis

Text mining: widgets for natural language processing and text mining

Time series: widgets for time series analysis and modeling

Spectroscopy: widgets for analyzing and visualization of (hyper)spectral datasets [8]

Paint Data widget in combination with hierarchical clustering and k-Means.

Objectives
The program provides a platform for experiment selection, recommendation systems, and predictive modeling and
is used in biomedicine, bioinformatics, genomic research, and teaching. In science, it is used as a platform for
testing new machine learning algorithms and for implementing new techniques in genetics and bioinformatics. In
education, it was used for teaching machine learning and data mining methods to students of biology, biomedicine,
and informatics.

Extensions

Various projects build on Orange either by extending the core components with add-ons or using only the Orange
Canvas to exploit the implemented visual programming features and GUI.

OASYS (https://www.aps.anl.gov/Science/Scientific-Software/OASYS) the ORange SYnchrotron Suite [9]

scOrange (https://singlecell.biolab.si/) for single cell biostatistics

Quasar (https://quasar.codes/) for data analysis in natural sciences

History

In 1996, the University of Ljubljana and Jožef Stefan Institute started development of ML*, a machine learning
framework in C++.

In 1997, Python bindings were developed for ML*, which together with emerging Python modules formed a joint
framework called Orange.

During the following years most major algorithms for data mining and machine learning have been developed
either in C++ (Orange's core) or in Python modules.

In 2002, first prototypes to create a flexible graphical user interface were designed, using Pmw Python
megawidgets.

In 2003, graphical user interface was redesigned and re-developed for Qt framework using PyQt Python
bindings. The visual programming framework was defined, and development of widgets (graphical components
of data analysis pipeline) has begun.

In 2005, extensions for data analysis in bioinformatics was created.

In 2008, Mac OS X DMG and Fink-based installation packages were developed.

In 2009, over 100 widgets were created and maintained.

From 2009, Orange is in 2.0 beta and web site offers installation packages based on daily compiling cycle.
In 2012, new object hierarchy was imposed, replacing the old module-based structure.

In 2013, a major GUI redesign.

In 2015, Orange 3.0 is released.

In 2016, Orange is in version 3.3. The development uses monthly stable release cycle.

References

1. "orange3/CHANGELOG.md at master . biolab/orange3 . GitHub" (https://github.com/biolab/orange3/blob/master/C

HANGELOG.md#01---1996-10-10) .

2. "Release 3.29.2" (https://github.com/biolab/orange3/releases/tag/3.29.2) . 8 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June

2021.

3. "Orange - License" (https://orange.biolab.si/license/) .

4. "orange3/LICENSE at master . biolab/orange3 . GitHub" (https://github.com/biolab/orange3/blob/master/LICENS

E) .

5. DemšarJanez; CurkTomaž; ErjavecAleš; GorupČrt; HočevarTomaž; MilutinovičMitar; MožinaMartin; PolajnarMatija;

ToplakMarko; StaričAnže; ŠtajdoharMiha (2013-01-01). "Orange" (https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.5555/2567709.25
67736) . The Journal of Machine Learning Research.

6. Janez Demšar; Tomaž Curk; Aleš Erjavec; Črt Gorup; Tomaž Hočevar; Mitar Milutinovič; Martin Možina; Matija
Polajnar; Marko Toplak; Anže Starič; Miha Stajdohar; Lan Umek; Lan Žagar; Jure Žbontar; Marinka Žitnik; Blaž
Zupan (2013). "Orange: data mining toolbox in Python" (http://eprints.fri.uni-lj.si/2267/1/2013-Demsar-Orange-J
MLR.pdf) (PDF). JMLR. 14 (1): 2349–2353.

7. "Orange - Download" (https://orange.biolab.si/download/) . Orange. Retrieved 28 May 2018.

8. M. Toplak, G. Birarda, S. Read, C. Sandt, S. Rosendahl, L. Vaccari, J. Demšar, F. Borondics, Synchrotron

Radiation News 30, 40–45 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1080/08940886.2017.1338424

9. L. Rebuffi, M. Sanchez del Rio, Proc. SPIE 10388, 103880S (2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2274263

Further reading

Demšar, Janez and Blaž Zupan, Orange: Data Mining Fruitful and Fun - A Historical Perspective (http://aila
b.ijs.si/dunja/TuringSLAIS-2012/Papers/Demsar_Orange.pdf) , Informatica 37, pgs. 55–60, (2013).

External links

Official website (https://orange.biolab.si)

 OASYS website (https://www.aps.anl.gov/Science/Scientific-Software/OASYS)

scOrange website (https://singlecell.biolab.si/)

Quasar website (https://quasar.codes/)

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Last edited 28 days ago by 81.178.253.17