Manipulate keeps replaying the animation non-stop

Question

I made a notebook with the following code, but for some reason when I evaluate it it keeps replaying repeatedly. What is causing this?

Thanks.

RandomWalk[n_, roi_, bi_, 
  rake_] := (pwin = bi (1 + roi)/(2 (bi - rake)); 
  NestWhileList[# + 
     RandomChoice[{pwin, 1 - pwin} -> {1 - 2 rake/bi, -1}] &, 
   0, True &, 0, n])

Manipulate[(data = RandomWalk[nrTournaments, roi, bi, rake]; 
  dollarWon = biWon bi; biWon = Last[data]; 
  ListPlot[data, Joined -> True]), {{nrTournaments, 10000, 
   "tournaments"}, 0, 100000, 100}, {{roi, 0.015, "ROI"}, 0, 20, 
  0.001}, {{bi, 60, "BI ($)"}, 0, 10000, 
      1}, {{rake, 1.26, "rake ($)"}, 0, 500, 0.01}, 
     Panel[Grid[{{Dynamic[
          Row[{"BI won: ", ToString[biWon], " (", 
            Style["$" <> ToString[dollarWon], 
         If[dollarWon >= 0, Darker[Green], Red]], ")"}]]}}, 
   Alignment -> Left]], SaveDefinitions -> True]

This related question gives several approaches to this problem. — Michael E2, Apr 28 '13 at 16:42

Michael E2 · Accepted Answer · 2013-04-28T17:43:56.223

The issue is that by default, whenever a symbol in the Manipulate change value, the Manipulate expression is reevaluated. This means that when data, dollarWon etc. are changed in a given evaluation, their changes trigger another reevaluation and you get an infinite loop.

The way around this is to control the tracked symbols with the TrackedSymbols option.

Manipulate[data = RandomWalk[nrTournaments, roi, bi, rake];
 dollarWon = biWon bi; biWon = Last[data];
 Dynamic@ListPlot[data, Joined -> True],

 {{nrTournaments, 10000, "tournaments"}, 0, 100000, 100},
 {{roi, 0.015, "ROI"}, 0, 20, 0.001},
 {{bi, 60, "BI ($)"}, 0, 10000, 1},
     {{rake, 1.26, "rake ($)"}, 0, 500, 0.01},

 Panel[Grid[{{Dynamic[
      Row[{"BI won: ", ToString[biWon], " (", 
        Style["$" <> ToString[dollarWon], 
         If[dollarWon >= 0, Darker[Green], Red]], ")"}]]}}, 
   Alignment -> Left]],
 SaveDefinitions -> True, TrackedSymbols :> True]

Setting the option to True means only the control variables are tracked. It is equivalent in this case to the setting TrackedSymbols :> {nrTournaments, roi, bi, rake}.

With only the TrackedSymbols option, the Manipulate is initially evaluated twice, and once there after for every change of inputs. To fix this, put the ListPlot inside a Dynamic.

To run more trials on the same input, one way is to track a dummy variable. (I haven't discovered a better way. Update does not seem applicable. I can't figure out how to force updating without an actual change.)

trial = 0;
Manipulate[trial;
 data = RandomWalk[nrTournaments, roi, bi, rake];
 dollarWon = biWon bi; biWon = Last[data];
 Dynamic@ListPlot[data, Joined -> True],
 {{nrTournaments, 10000, "tournaments"}, 0, 100000, 100},
 {{roi, 0.015, "ROI"}, 0, 20, 0.001},
 {{bi, 60, "BI ($)"}, 0, 10000, 1},
     {{rake, 1.26, "rake ($)"}, 0, 500, 0.01},
     Panel[Grid[{{Dynamic[
          Row[{"BI won: ", ToString[biWon], " (", 
            Style["$" <> ToString[dollarWon], 
         If[dollarWon >= 0, Darker[Green], Red]], ")"}]]}}, 
   Alignment -> Left]],
 Button["Run again", trial++],
 SaveDefinitions -> True, 
 TrackedSymbols :> {nrTournaments, roi, bi, rake, trial}]

You can also make trial a Manipulate variable with a slider. Add the following to the variable declarations:

{trial, 1, 10^6, 1}

If trial at the beginning of the Manipulate expression is replaced by SeedRandom[trial]. then trials with the same inputs will be reproducible.

Thanks for the help. I would like to add a button to recalculate without changing the inputs. I tried to add a button like this: Button["Run again", (nrTournaments = nrTournaments + 1; nrTournaments = nrTournaments - 1)] but it doesn't work very well. What is the correct way to achieve this? — dabd, Apr 28 '13 at 17:16
Thank you very much this was very helpful. I was looking at ControlType -> None as a way to add a dummy control but it didn't work. — dabd, Apr 28 '13 at 18:17
@dabd You could try something like {{trial, 0}, Button["Run again", trial++] &} as the variable declaration. ControlType -> None adds the variable without a control; you would still need a way to change its value to trigger an update. The variable will be localized in the DynamicModule that the Manipulate creates. — Michael E2, Apr 28 '13 at 19:02

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 28 '13 at 14:09

2

The problem is you told it to simulate 10000 times at initialization. Change this to something more reasonable (like 10) and it will only do 10.

answered Apr 28 '13 at 14:09

bill s

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My intention is for it to generate a list with nrTournaments elements and then to plot the result. It looks like it is generating nrTournaments lists and plotting each one instead. How can I change it to do what I want? – dabd Apr 28 '13 at 14:33

Manipulate keeps replaying the animation non-stop

2 Answers2

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