What is an ID3 Algorithm?

ID3 stands for Iterative Dichotomiser 3

It is a classification algorithm that follows a greedy approach by selecting the best attribute that
yields maximum Information Gain(IG) or minimum Entropy(H).

What is Entropy and Information gain?

Entropy is a measure of the amount of uncertainty in the dataset S. Mathematical
Representation of Entropy is shown here -

H(S)=∑c∈C−p(c)log2p(c) ,
Where,
● S - The current dataset for which entropy is being calculated(changes every iteration
of the ID3 algorithm).
● C - Set of classes in S {example - C ={yes, no}}
● p(c) - The proportion of the number of elements in class c to the number of elements
in set S.

In ID3, entropy is calculated for each remaining attribute. The attribute with the smallest
entropy is used to split the set S on that particular iteration.
Entropy = 0 implies it is of pure class, that means all are of the same category.
Information Gain IG(A) tells us how much uncertainty in S was reduced after splitting set S
on attribute A. Mathematical representation of Information gain is shown here -

IG(A,S)=H(S)−∑t∈Tp(t)H(t)
Where,
● H(S) - Entropy of set S.
● T - The subsets created from splitting set S by attribute A such that

S=⋃tϵTt
● p(t) - The proportion of the number of elements in t to the number of elements in set
S.
● H(t) - Entropy of subset t.
In ID3, information gain can be calculated (instead of entropy) for each remaining attribute.
The attribute with the largest information gain is used to split the set S on that particular
iteration.

What are the steps in the ID3 algorithm?

The steps in ID3 algorithm are as follows:
1. Calculate entropy for the dataset.
 2. For each attribute/feature.
2.1. Calculate entropy for all its categorical values.
2.2. Calculate information gain for the feature.
3. Find the feature with maximum information gain.
4. Repeat it until we get the desired tree.

Use ID3 algorithm on a data

We'll discuss it here mathematically and later see it's implementation in Python.
So, Let's take an example to make it more clear.

Here,the dataset is of binary classes(yes and no), where 9 out of 14 are "yes" and 5 out of 14 are
"no".
Complete entropy of dataset is: formula H(S)=∑c∈C−p(c)log2p(c) ,
H(S) = - p(yes) * log2(p(yes)) - p(no) * log2(p(no))
= - (9/14) * log2(9/14) - (5/14) * log2(5/14)
= - (-0.41) - (-0.53)

= 0.94
For each attribute of the dataset, let's follow the step-2 of pseudocode : -

First Attribute - Outlook

Categorical values - sunny, overcast and rain

H(Outlook=sunny) = -(2/5)*log2(2/5)-(3/5)*log2(3/5) =0.971

H(Outlook=rain) = -(3/5)*log2(3/5)-(2/5)*log2(2/5) =0.971

H(Outlook=overcast) = -(4/4)*log2(4/4)-0 = 0

Average Entropy Information for Outlook -

I(Outlook) = p(sunny) * H(Outlook=sunny) + p(rain) * H(Outlook=rain) + p(overcast) * H(Outlook=overcast)

= (5/14)*0.971 + (5/14)*0.971 + (4/14)*0

= 0.693

Information Gain = H(S) - I(Outlook)

= 0.94 - 0.693

= 0.247

Second Attribute - Temperature

Categorical values - hot, mild, cool

H(Temperature=hot) = -(2/4)*log2(2/4)-(2/4)*log2(2/4) = 1

H(Temperature=cool) = -(3/4)*log2(3/4)-(1/4)*log2(1/4) = 0.811

H(Temperature=mild) = -(4/6)*log2(4/6)-(2/6)*log2(2/6) = 0.9179

Average Entropy Information for Temperature -

I(Temperature) = p(hot)*H(Temperature=hot) + p(mild)*H(Temperature=mild) + p(cool)*H(Temperature=cool)

= (4/14)*1 + (6/14)*0.9179 + (4/14)*0.811

= 0.9108

Information Gain = H(S) - I(Temperature)

= 0.94 - 0.9108

= 0.0292

Third Attribute - Humidity

Categorical values - high, normal

H(Humidity=high) = -(3/7)*log2(3/7)-(4/7)*log2(4/7) = 0.983

H(Humidity=normal) = -(6/7)*log2(6/7)-(1/7)*log2(1/7) = 0.591

Average Entropy Information for Humidity -

I(Humidity) = p(high)*H(Humidity=high) + p(normal)*H(Humidity=normal)

= (7/14)*0.983 + (7/14)*0.591

= 0.787

Information Gain = H(S) - I(Humidity)

= 0.94 - 0.787

= 0.153

Fourth Attribute - Wind

Categorical values - weak, strong

H(Wind=weak) = -(6/8)*log2(6/8)-(2/8)*log2(2/8) = 0.811

H(Wind=strong) = -(3/6)*log2(3/6)-(3/6)*log2(3/6) = 1

Average Entropy Information for Wind -

I(Wind) = p(weak)*H(Wind=weak) + p(strong)*H(Wind=strong)

= (8/14)*0.811 + (6/14)*1

= 0.892

Information Gain = H(S) - I(Wind)

= 0.94 - 0.892

= 0.048

Here, the attribute with maximum information gain is Outlook. So, the decision tree built so far -
Here, when Outlook == overcast, it is of pure class(Yes).

Now, we have to repeat the same procedure for the data with rows consisting of Outlook value as
Sunny and then for Outlook value as Rain.
Now, finding the best attribute for splitting the data with Outlook=Sunny values{ Dataset rows =
[1, 2, 8, 9, 11]}.

Complete entropy of Sunny is -

H(S) = - p(yes) * log2(p(yes)) - p(no) * log2(p(no))

= - (2/5) * log2(2/5) - (3/5) * log2(3/5)

= 0.971

First Attribute - Temperature

Categorical values - hot, mild, cool

H(Sunny, Temperature=hot) = -0-(2/2)*log2(2/2) =0

H(Sunny, Temperature=cool) = -(1)*log2(1)- 0 = 0

H(Sunny, Temperature=mild) = -(1/2)*log2(1/2)-(1/2)*log2(1/2) = 1

Average Entropy Information for Temperature -

I(Sunny, Temperature) = p(Sunny, hot)*H(Sunny, Temperature=hot) + p(Sunny, mild)*H(Sunny,
Temperature=mild) + p(Sunny, cool)*H(Sunny, Temperature=cool)

= (2/5)*0 + (1/5)*0 + (2/5)*1

= 0.4

Information Gain = H(Sunny) - I(Sunny, Temperature)

= 0.971 - 0.4

= 0.571

Second Attribute - Humidity

Categorical values - high, normal

H(Sunny, Humidity=high) = - 0 - (3/3)*log2(3/3) = 0

H(Sunny, Humidity=normal) = -(2/2)*log2(2/2)-0 = 0

Average Entropy Information for Humidity -

I(Sunny, Humidity) = p(Sunny, high)*H(Sunny, Humidity=high) + p(Sunny, normal)*H(Sunny,

Humidity=normal)

= (3/5)*0 + (2/5)*0

=0

Information Gain = H(Sunny) - I(Sunny, Humidity)

= 0.971 - 0

= 0.971
Third Attribute - Wind

Categorical values - weak, strong

H(Sunny, Wind=weak) = -(1/3)*log2(1/3)-(2/3)*log2(2/3) = 0.918

H(Sunny, Wind=strong) = -(1/2)*log2(1/2)-(1/2)*log2(1/2) = 1

Average Entropy Information for Wind -

I(Sunny, Wind) = p(Sunny, weak)*H(Sunny, Wind=weak) + p(Sunny, strong)*H(Sunny,

Wind=strong)

= (3/5)*0.918 + (2/5)*1

= 0.9508

Information Gain = H(Sunny) - I(Sunny, Wind)

= 0.971 - 0.9508

= 0.0202

Here, the attribute with maximum information gain is Humidity. So, the decision tree built so far -
Here, when Outlook = Sunny and Humidity = High, it is a pure class of category "no". And When
Outlook = Sunny and Humidity = Normal, it is again a pure class of category "yes". Therefore, we
don't need to do further calculations.
Now, finding the best attribute for splitting the data with Outlook=Sunny values{ Dataset rows =
[4, 5, 6, 10, 14]}.

Complete entropy of Rain is -

H(S) = - p(yes) * log2(p(yes)) - p(no) * log2(p(no))

= - (3/5) * log2(3/5) - (2/5) * log2(2/5)

= 0.971

First Attribute - Temperature

Categorical values - mild, cool

H(Rain, Temperature=cool) = -(1/2)*log2(1/2)- (1/2)*log2(1/2) = 1

H(Rain, Temperature=mild) = -(2/3)*log2(2/3)-(1/3)*log2(1/3) = 0.918

Average Entropy Information for Temperature -

I(Rain, Temperature) = p(Rain, mild)*H(Rain, Temperature=mild) + p(Rain, cool)*H(Rain,

Temperature=cool)

= (2/5)*1 + (3/5)*0.918

= 0.9508

Information Gain = H(Rain) - I(Rain, Temperature)

= 0.971 - 0.9508
 = 0.0202

Second Attribute - Wind

Categorical values - weak, strong

H(Wind=weak) = -(3/3)*log2(3/3)-0 = 0

H(Wind=strong) = 0-(2/2)*log2(2/2) = 0

Average Entropy Information for Wind -

I(Wind) = p(Rain, weak)*H(Rain, Wind=weak) + p(Rain, strong)*H(Rain, Wind=strong)

= (3/5)*0 + (2/5)*0

=0

Information Gain = H(Rain) - I(Rain, Wind)

= 0.971 - 0

= 0.971

Here, the attribute with maximum information gain is Wind. So, the decision tree built so far -
Here, when Outlook = Rain and Wind = Strong, it is a pure class of category "no". And When
Outlook = Rain and Wind = Weak, it is again a pure class of category "yes".
And this is our final desired tree for the given dataset.