Dual-tree algorithms are a widely used class of branch-and-bound algorithms.
Unfortunately, developing dual-tree algorithms for use with different trees and
problems is often complex and burdensome. We introduce a four-part logical
split: the tree, the traversal, the point-to-point base case, and the pruning
rule. We provide a meta-algorithm which allows development of dual-tree
algorithms in a tree-independent manner and easy extension to entirely new
types of trees. Representations are provided for five common algorithms; for
k-nearest neighbor search, this leads to a novel, tighter pruning bound. The
meta-algorithm also allows straightforward extensions to massively parallel
settings.Comment: accepted in ICML 201