Implement A Simple Neural Network in C# .NET - Part 1

Implement a simple neural network in C# .
NET —
Part 1
Deepak Battini Follow
Jul 9, 2018 · 5 min read
Last article “function of a neuron“, we saw how an artificial neuron is functioning with
manual training on AND gate data. We saw that after 6th iteration a simple network
learned and is now capable of predicting. Let’s put together the learning in the form of
code and do it programmatically. I will divide this post into two parts:
1. Create the neural network structure
2. Train with AND gate data using backpropagation algorithm
The idea of this building from scratch is to get to know more via code and not the
intention to build another deep learning library. There are many libraries which do the
job for you, and we will talk about those later by building more complex network and
train with lots of data (CSV and images). The idea of this post of to make the concept
more clear which will help build more knowledge with the already available libraries for
deep learning.
Before going into the code and divide it into various classes and function, let see the
below diagram again. We will use some notion from the below diagram while building
your own first neural network program.
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Pulse
A pulse is an electric signal passing through the dendrite of neuron which forms the
basis of data (value stored in double datatype). Below is the simple form of Pulse which
one or more characters which in this case is a Value
class Pulse
{
public double Value { get; set; }
}
Dendrite
A simple projection of a neuron that receives the pulse input and feeds into the neuron
itself for computation. I have defined three properties for a Dendrite
InputPulse: The input signal
SynapticWeight: The connection strength between the dendrite and synapsis of two
neurons.
Learnable: Just a bool used during training to adjust the SynapticWeight value
{
public Pulse InputPulse { get; set; }
public double SynapticWeight { get; set; }
public bool Learnable { get; set; } = true;

}
Neuron
The neuron itself combined with its core function “Fire” and Dendrite. The workflow of
a neuron is it receives the input values, do the weighted sum of all the input signals from
all dendrites and pass them to the activation function which in this case is Step
activation function. The output of the Activation is assigned to OutputPulse which will
travel through the Axon of the neuron.

class Neuron
{
public List<Dendrite> Dendrites { get; set;}
public Pulse OutputPulse { get; set;}
private double Weight;
public Neuron()
{
Dendrites = new List<Dendrite>();
OutputPulse = new Pulse();
}
public void Fire()

{
OutputPulse.Value = Sum();
OutputPulse.Value = Activation(OutputPulse.Value);
}
public void Compute(double learningRate, double delta)

{
Weight += learningRate * delta;
foreach (var terminal in Dendrites)
{
terminal.SynapticWeight = Weight;
}
}
private double Sum()

{
double computeValue = 0.0f;
foreach (var d in Dendrites)
{
computeValue += d.InputPulse.Value * d.SynapticWeight;
}
return computeValue;
}
private double Activation(double input)

{
double threshold = 1;
return input >= threshold ? 0 : threshold;
}
}
NeuralLayer
As you see the below image, we stack a bunch of neuron in the form of layers to build a
complex network, I have created another class which will create a layer first.

class NeuralLayer
{
public List<Neuron> Neurons { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set;}
public double Weight { get; set;}
public NeuralLayer(int count, double initialWeight, string name =

"")
{
Neurons = new List<Neuron>();
for(int i=0;i<count;i++)
{
Neurons.Add(new Neuron());
}
Weight = initialWeight;
Name = name;
}
public void Compute(double learningRate, double delta)

{
foreach (var neuron in Neurons)
{
neuron.Compute(learningRate, delta);
}
}
public void Log()

{
Console.WriteLine("{0}, Weight: {1}", Name, Weight);
}
}
NetworkModel
The NetworkModel is the complete architecture with layers of neuron and has Train
functionality.
class NetworkModel
{
public List<NeuralLayer> Layers { get; set; }
public NetworkModel()
{
Layers = new List<NeuralLayer>();
}
public void AddLayer(NeuralLayer layer)

{
int dendriteCount = 1;
if (Layers.Count > 0)
{
dendriteCount = Layers.Last().Neurons.Count;
}
foreach (var element in layer.Neurons)

{
for (int i = 0; i < dendriteCount; i++)
{
element.Dendrites.Add(new Dendrite());
}
}
}
public void Build()

{
int i = 0;
foreach (var layer in Layers)
{
if (i >= Layers.Count - 1)
{
break;
}
var nextLayer = Layers[i + 1];

CreateNetwork(layer, nextLayer);
i++;
}
}
public void Train(NeuralData X, NeuralData Y, int iterations,

double learningRate = 0.1)
{
//Implement Training Method
}
public void Print()

{
DataTable dt = new DataTable();

dt.Columns.Add("Name");
dt.Columns.Add("Neurons");
dt.Columns.Add("Weight");
foreach
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you in Layers)
{
DataRow row = dt.NewRow();
row[0] = element.Name;
row[1] = element.Neurons.Count;
row[2] = element.Weight;
dt.Rows.Add(row);
}
ConsoleTableBuilder builder = ConsoleTableBuilder.From(dt);

builder.ExportAndWrite();
}
private void CreateNetwork(NeuralLayer connectingFrom, NeuralLayer

connectingTo)
{
foreach (var to in connectingTo.Neurons)
{
foreach (var from in connectingFrom.Neurons)
{
to.Dendrites.Add(new Dendrite() { InputPulse =
to.OutputPulse, SynapticWeight = connectingTo.Weight });
}
}
}
}
Invoke the NetworkModel from the Main method in a Console Project like this below.
This will create a network with three layers with initial weights.
NetworkModel model = new NetworkModel();

model.Layers.Add(new NeuralLayer(2, 0.1, "INPUT"));
model.Layers.Add(new NeuralLayer(2, 0.1, "HIDDEN"));
model.Layers.Add(new NeuralLayer(1, 0.1, "OUTPUT"));
model.Build();
model.Print();
The code itself is self-explanatory, so I don’t bored you guys with lots of text. Next article
will implement the training method using the backpropagation algorithm and run a
sample training.

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Implement a simple neural network in C# .

1. Create the neural network structure

2. Train with AND gate data using backpropagation algorithm

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InputPulse: The input signal

public double SynapticWeight { get; set; }

public bool Learnable { get; set; } = true;

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public Pulse OutputPulse { get; set;}

private double Weight;

public void Fire()

public void Compute(double learningRate, double delta)

private double Sum()

private double Activation(double input)

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public string Name { get; set;}

public double Weight { get; set;}

public NeuralLayer(int count, double initialWeight, string name =

public void Compute(double learningRate, double delta)

public void Log()

public void AddLayer(NeuralLayer layer)

foreach (var element in layer.Neurons)

public void Build()

var nextLayer = Layers[i + 1];

public void Train(NeuralData X, NeuralData Y, int iterations,

public void Print()

DataTable dt = new DataTable();

ConsoleTableBuilder builder = ConsoleTableBuilder.From(dt);

private void CreateNetwork(NeuralLayer connectingFrom, NeuralLayer

NetworkModel model = new NetworkModel();

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