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Output component
================

* :ref:`Input component <user_guide_input>`
* :ref:`Quality assurance component <user_guide_qa>`
* :ref:`Approximation component <user_guide_approx>`
* :ref:`Estimation component <user_guide_estimation>`
* :ref:`Search component <user_guide_search>`
* **Output component**

.. _user_guide_output:

Component description
=====================
The *output* component takes care of post-processing and filtering the approximation results. It
can also be used to do cleanup work, i.e. remove directories and files which were used during the
approximation process but shall not remain afterwards.

The standard *output* implementation of CIRCA is called ``output_best_area``.

Functionality
-------------
The ``output_best_area`` implementation copies all approximated and validated circuits to the
*output* directory and prints statistics about the whole process to the console. These include a
list of all approximated circuits, the smallest area, the original circuit's area and the numbers
of validated and valid circuits.

Notes and restrictions
----------------------
* This *output* implementation was designed to work best with the ``gradient_descent_search``
  implementation, or *Search* implementations focusing on the circuit's *area* in general.

Config options
--------------
``output_best_area`` does not require additional configuration.

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:ref:`Back to the User Guide <user_guide_built_ins>`