Interpretation of parameter values - what is a "parameter"?

[Ji-Sung Kim <ji...@princeton.edu>]

Hello everyone,

I was doing some work with the OpenNLP maxent package, and was wondering
what the mathematical significance of the double parameter values was. A
double[] array, parameters, is used to initialize Context objects.
<https://opennlp.apache.org/documentation/1.5.2-incubating/apidocs/opennlp-maxent/opennlp/model/Context.html#getParameters%28%29>

I looked through the documentation, but the documentation only explained
that "parameters [are the] Parameters for the outcomes specified."

What exactly is a "parameter" in the context of the maxent models
generated/read with the OpenNLP tools?

My guess was that: probability = e ^ (parameter)

I would really appreciate any clarifications.

Thank you for your help!

Warm regards,

*Ji-Sung Kim*
Princeton University
email: jisungk@princeton.edu