Author: Gilles Colling
Date: 2026-03-23

# Advanced Topics

#### Gilles Colling

#### 2026-03-23

## Overview

This vignette covers advanced topics for power users, researchers, and method developers:

1. Understanding the Algorithms - Exact vs greedy, complexity analysis

2. Custom Engines - Integrate any modeling package (INLA, mgcv, brms)

3. Exact Subset Enumeration - Multiple maximal subsets

4. Performance Optimization - Speed and memory considerations

5. Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Target audience: Users comfortable with R programming and statistical methods

Estimated time: 15-20 minutes

# 1. Understanding the Algorithms

## 1.1 Exact vs Greedy: When to Use Each

corrselect offers two algorithmic approaches for `corrPrune()`:

### Exact Mode (Graph-Theoretic)

Algorithm: Eppstein–Löffler–Strash (ELS) or Bron–Kerbosch Complexity: O(2^p) - exponential in number of predictors Guarantee: Finds the largest maximal independent set

    data(mtcars)

    # Exact mode: guaranteed optimal
    exact_result <- corrPrune(mtcars, threshold = 0.7, mode = "exact")
    cat("Exact mode kept:", ncol(exact_result), "variables\n")
    #> Exact mode kept: 5 variables

Use exact mode when:

- p ≤ 20 (feasible runtime)

- You need guaranteed optimal solution

- Reproducibility is critical

- You’re writing a paper (justify optimality)

### Greedy Mode (Heuristic)

Algorithm: Deterministic iterative removal Complexity: O(p² × k) where k = iterations Guarantee: Near-optimal, deterministic

    # Greedy mode: fast approximation
    greedy_result <- corrPrune(mtcars, threshold = 0.7, mode = "greedy")
    cat("Greedy mode kept:", ncol(greedy_result), "variables\n")
    #> Greedy mode kept: 5 variables

Use greedy mode when:

- p > 20 (exact becomes slow)

- Speed is priority

- Near-optimal is acceptable

- High-dimensional data (p > 100)

### Auto Mode (Recommended)

Automatically selects based on p:

    # Auto mode: smart switching (exact if p ≤ 20, greedy otherwise)
    auto_result <- corrPrune(mtcars, threshold = 0.7, mode = "auto")
    cat("Auto mode kept:", ncol(auto_result), "variables\n")
    #> Auto mode kept: 5 variables

## 1.2 Complexity Analysis with Benchmarks

Let’s measure runtime scaling:

    # Generate datasets with increasing p
    library(microbenchmark)

    benchmark_corrPrune <- function(p_values) {
      results <- data.frame(
        p = integer(),
        exact_time_ms = numeric(),
        greedy_time_ms = numeric()
      )

      for (p in p_values) {
        # Generate correlated data
        set.seed(123)
        cor_mat <- 0.5^abs(outer(1:p, 1:p, "-"))
        data <- as.data.frame(MASS::mvrnorm(n = 100, mu = rep(0, p), Sigma = cor_mat))

        # Exact mode (skip if p too large)
        exact_time_ms <- if (p <= 500) {
          median(microbenchmark(
            corrPrune(data, threshold = 0.7, mode = "exact"),
            times = 3,  # Few iterations for speed
            unit = "ms"
          )$time) / 1e6  # Convert nanoseconds to milliseconds
        } else {
          NA
        }

        # Greedy mode
        greedy_time_ms <- median(microbenchmark(
          corrPrune(data, threshold = 0.7, mode = "greedy"),
          times = 3,  # Few iterations for speed
          unit = "ms"
        )$time) / 1e6  # Convert nanoseconds to milliseconds

        results <- rbind(results, data.frame(
          p = p,
          exact_time_ms = round(exact_time_ms, 1),
          greedy_time_ms = round(greedy_time_ms, 1)
        ))
      }

      results
    }

    # Benchmark (extended range to show comprehensive scaling behavior)
    p_values <- c(10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, 1000)
    benchmark <- benchmark_corrPrune(p_values)
    print(benchmark)
    #>      p exact_time_ms greedy_time_ms
    #> 1   10           0.5            0.3
    #> 2   20           0.6            0.4
    #> 3   50           1.2            0.7
    #> 4  100           2.0            1.6
    #> 5  200           5.5            3.2
    #> 6  300          13.2            5.7
    #> 7  500          33.7           13.4
    #> 8 1000            NA           46.9

    # Visualize scaling
    # Separate data for exact mode (only where available) and greedy mode (all points)
    exact_valid <- !is.na(benchmark$exact_time_ms) & benchmark$exact_time_ms > 0
    greedy_valid <- !is.na(benchmark$greedy_time_ms) & benchmark$greedy_time_ms > 0

    # Replace any zeros with small positive value for log scale
    exact_times <- benchmark$exact_time_ms
    greedy_times <- benchmark$greedy_time_ms
    exact_times[exact_times <= 0 & !is.na(exact_times)] <- 0.01
    greedy_times[greedy_times <= 0 & !is.na(greedy_times)] <- 0.01

    # Determine y-axis limits from valid data
    all_valid_times <- c(exact_times[exact_valid], greedy_times[greedy_valid])
    ylim <- c(min(all_valid_times) * 0.5, max(all_valid_times) * 2)

    # Plot greedy mode (all points)
    plot(benchmark$p[greedy_valid], greedy_times[greedy_valid],
         type = "b", col = rgb(0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1), pch = 19, lwd = 2,
         xlab = "Number of Predictors (p)",
         ylab = "Time (milliseconds, log scale)",
         main = "Exact vs Greedy Scaling",
         ylim = ylim,
         xlim = range(benchmark$p),
         log = "y")

    # Add exact mode (only where available)
    lines(benchmark$p[exact_valid], exact_times[exact_valid],
          type = "b", col = rgb(0.8, 0.2, 0.2, 1), pch = 19, lwd = 2)

    # Mark exact mode limit
    abline(v = 500, lty = 2, col = "gray50")
    text(500, ylim[2] * 0.5, "Exact mode limit", pos = 4, col = "gray30")

    legend("topleft",
           legend = c("Exact", "Greedy"),
           col = c(rgb(0.8, 0.2, 0.2, 1), rgb(0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1)),
           pch = 19,
           lwd = 2,
           bty = "o",
           bg = "white")

Key insight: The scaling behavior depends heavily on correlation structure. For this moderately correlated dataset (ρ = 0.5^|i-j|), exact mode remains practical up to p ≈ 500, while greedy mode scales efficiently beyond p = 1000. The exact mode provides guaranteed optimality at the cost of computational complexity, while greedy mode offers substantial speed advantages for large p with near-optimal results in most practical scenarios.

## 1.3 Deterministic Tie-Breaking

When multiple variables have identical correlation profiles, corrselect uses deterministic tie-breaking:

    # Create data with identical correlations
    set.seed(123)
    x1 <- rnorm(100)
    x2 <- x1 + rnorm(100, sd = 0.1)  # Almost identical to x1
    x3 <- x1 + rnorm(100, sd = 0.1)  # Also almost identical to x1
    x4 <- rnorm(100)                  # Independent

    data_ties <- data.frame(x1, x2, x3, x4)

    # Run multiple times - always same result
    result1 <- corrPrune(data_ties, threshold = 0.95)
    result2 <- corrPrune(data_ties, threshold = 0.95)

    cat("Run 1 selected:", names(result1), "\n")
    #> Run 1 selected: x2 x4
    cat("Run 2 selected:", names(result2), "\n")
    #> Run 2 selected: x2 x4
    cat("Identical:", identical(names(result1), names(result2)), "\n")
    #> Identical: TRUE

Tie-breaking rules: 1. Prefer variables with lower mean absolute correlation with others

2. If still tied, prefer lexicographically first (alphabetical)

This ensures reproducibility across runs, machines, and R versions.

## 1.4 Grouped Pruning

When correlations vary across subgroups (e.g., experimental conditions, species, sites), grouped pruning computes associations per group and aggregates them.

### Basic Usage

    # Create data with grouping variable
    set.seed(123)
    n <- 100
    df <- data.frame(
      x1 = rnorm(n),
      x2 = rnorm(n),
      x3 = rnorm(n),
      site = rep(c("A", "B", "C", "D"), each = n/4)
    )

    # Prune using per-group correlations (aggregated with median)
    result <- corrPrune(df, threshold = 0.5, by = "site", group_q = 0.5)
    cat("Selected:", attr(result, "selected_vars"), "\n")
    #> Selected: x1 x2 x3

### Parameters

Parameter | Description
--- | ---
`by` | Column name(s) for grouping
`group_q` | Quantile for aggregation: 0.5 = median, 1.0 = max

### When to Use

- Multi-site studies: Correlations may differ across locations

- Experimental conditions: Treatment groups may have different correlation structures

- Longitudinal data: Correlations may change over time periods

# 2. Custom Engines for modelPrune()

## 2.1 Understanding Custom Engines

### What is a Custom Engine?

A custom engine allows you to integrate any modeling framework with `modelPrune()`, not just base R’s `lm()` or `lme4`. This enables diagnostic-based pruning (VIF or condition number) for:

- Bayesian models (INLA, brms, Stan)

- Additive models (mgcv GAMs)

- Survival models (coxph, flexsurv)

- Custom metrics (AIC, BIC, posterior uncertainty)

### Built-in Criteria

For built-in engines (`lm`, `glm`, `lme4`, `glmmTMB`), two criteria are available:

- `vif` (default): Variance Inflation Factor - classic multicollinearity measure

- `condition_number`: SVD-based condition indices - alternative collinearity diagnostic

    # Using condition number instead of VIF
    result_cn <- modelPrune(mpg ~ ., data = mtcars, criterion = "condition_number", limit = 10)
    cat("Selected:", attr(result_cn, "selected_vars"), "\n")
    #> Selected: cyl disp hp drat wt qsec vs am

### How Custom Engines Work

The `modelPrune()` algorithm follows this iterative process:

1. Fit the model with current predictors

2. Diagnose each predictor (compute a “badness” metric)

3. Identify the worst predictor (highest diagnostic value)

4. Remove if it exceeds the `limit` threshold

5. Repeat until all predictors satisfy the limit

Your custom engine defines steps 1 and 2; `modelPrune()` handles the iteration logic.

### Engine Structure Requirements

A custom engine is a named list with two required functions:

    my_engine <- list(
      # Required: How to fit the model
      fit = function(formula, data, ...) {
        # Your model fitting code
        # Must return a fitted model object
      },

      # Required: How to compute diagnostics
      diagnostics = function(model, fixed_effects) {
        # Compute diagnostic scores for each fixed effect
        # Higher values = worse (more likely to be removed)
        # Must return a named numeric vector
      },

      # Optional: Name for error messages
      name = "my_custom_engine"  # Defaults to "custom"
    )

Key principle: The `diagnostics` function must return higher values for worse predictors. This inverted metric ensures the algorithm removes the most problematic variables first.

## 2.2 Example: INLA Engine (Bayesian Spatial Models)

### Background

INLA (Integrated Nested Laplace Approximations) is a popular package for fast Bayesian inference, especially for spatial and temporal models. Unlike traditional VIF, we can use posterior uncertainty as a pruning criterion: variables with high posterior standard deviation contribute less information to the model.

### Implementation

    # Custom engine for INLA
    inla_engine <- list(
      name = "inla",

      fit = function(formula, data, ...) {
        # Fit INLA model
        INLA::inla(
          formula = formula,
          data = data,
          family = list(...)$family %||% "gaussian",
          control.compute = list(config = TRUE),
          ...
        )
      },

      diagnostics = function(model, fixed_effects) {
        # Use posterior SD as "badness" metric
        # Higher SD = more uncertain = candidate for removal
        summary_fixed <- model$summary.fixed
        scores <- summary_fixed[, "sd"]
        names(scores) <- rownames(summary_fixed)

        # Return scores for fixed effects only
        scores[fixed_effects]
      }
    )

    # Usage example
    pruned <- modelPrune(
      y ~ x1 + x2 + x3 + x4,
      data = my_data,
      engine = inla_engine,
      limit = 0.5  # Remove if posterior SD > 0.5
    )

### How It Works

1. fit: Calls `INLA::inla()` to compute posterior distributions

2. diagnostics: Extracts posterior standard deviations from `model$summary.fixed`

3. limit: Threshold for acceptable uncertainty (e.g., 0.5 means remove predictors with posterior SD > 0.5)

Interpretation: Variables with high posterior SD have coefficients that are uncertain given the data. Removing them reduces model complexity without losing much information.

When to use: Spatial models, hierarchical models, disease mapping, ecological modeling with INLA.

## 2.3 Example: mgcv Engine (GAMs)

### Background

Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) allow non-linear relationships via smooth terms. When pruning GAMs, we want to remove parametric (linear) terms with weak evidence while preserving smooth terms that model non-linear patterns.

### Implementation

    # Custom engine for mgcv GAMs
    mgcv_engine <- list(
      name = "mgcv_gam",

      fit = function(formula, data, ...) {
        mgcv::gam(formula, data = data, ...)
      },

      diagnostics = function(model, fixed_effects) {
        # Use p-values as badness metric
        # Higher p-value = less significant = candidate for removal
        summary_obj <- summary(model)

        # Extract parametric term p-values
        pvals <- summary_obj$p.pv

        # Return p-values for fixed effects
        pvals[fixed_effects]
      }
    )

    # Usage example
    pruned <- modelPrune(
      y ~ x1 + x2 + s(x3),  # s() for smooth terms
      data = my_data,
      engine = mgcv_engine,
      limit = 0.05  # Remove if p > 0.05
    )

### How It Works

1. fit: Calls `mgcv::gam()` to fit the additive model

2. diagnostics: Extracts p-values for parametric terms only (not smooth terms)

3. limit: Significance threshold (e.g., 0.05 for traditional α = 0.05)

Important: `modelPrune()` only removes parametric (linear) terms. Smooth terms specified with `s()`, `te()`, etc. are never removed automatically, as they’re part of the model structure.

When to use: Non-linear regression, ecological response curves, time series with trends.

## 2.4 Example: Custom Criterion (AIC-Based)

### Background

Sometimes you want to prune based on model comparison metrics rather than coefficient-level diagnostics. This example shows how to remove variables that don’t improve model fit according to AIC.

### Implementation

    # AIC-based pruning engine
    aic_engine <- list(
      name = "aic_pruner",

      fit = function(formula, data, ...) {
        lm(formula, data = data)
      },

      diagnostics = function(model, fixed_effects) {
        # For each predictor, compute ΔAIC if removed
        full_aic <- AIC(model)

        scores <- numeric(length(fixed_effects))
        names(scores) <- fixed_effects

        for (var in fixed_effects) {
          # Refit without this variable
          reduced_formula <- update(formula(model), paste("~ . -", var))
          reduced_model <- lm(reduced_formula, data = model$model)

          # ΔAIC: negative means removing improves model
          # We negate so "higher = worse" convention holds
          scores[var] <- -(AIC(reduced_model) - full_aic)
        }

        scores
      }
    )

    # Usage: Remove predictors with ΔAIC < -2 (improve AIC by > 2 when removed)
    pruned <- modelPrune(
      y ~ x1 + x2 + x3,
      data = my_data,
      engine = aic_engine,
      limit = -2
    )

### How It Works

1. fit: Standard linear model

2. diagnostics: For each variable, refit the model without that variable and compute ΔAIC

3. limit: Threshold for ΔAIC (e.g., -2 means “remove if AIC improves by more than 2 points”)

Key insight: The score is negated (multiplied by -1) to maintain the “higher is worse” convention. A variable with score > -2 means removing it would worsen AIC by more than 2, so it’s kept.

When to use: Model selection focused on parsimony, comparing nested models, when VIF isn’t the right metric.

Alternative metrics: You can adapt this pattern for BIC, likelihood ratio tests, or any other model comparison criterion.

## 2.5 Validation and Error Handling

### Automatic Validation

`modelPrune()` automatically validates custom engines to catch common errors early:

    # Invalid engine: missing 'diagnostics'
    bad_engine <- list(
      fit = function(formula, data, ...) lm(formula, data = data)
      # Missing 'diagnostics'
    )

    tryCatch({
      modelPrune(mpg ~ ., data = mtcars, engine = bad_engine, limit = 5)
    }, error = function(e) {
      cat("Error:", e$message, "\n")
    })
    #> Error: Custom engine missing required fields: diagnostics
    #> Required: 'fit' and 'diagnostics'

### Validation Checklist

Your custom engine must satisfy these requirements:

1. Structure: Named list with `fit` and `diagnostics` functions

2. fit returns model object: Must return something the `diagnostics` function can consume

3. diagnostics returns numeric vector: No characters, factors, or other types

4. Correct length: One diagnostic value per fixed effect (excluding intercept)

5. Named vector: Names must match variable names exactly

6. No missing values: NA, NaN, or Inf will cause errors

7. Higher = worse: Diagnostic values must increase for more problematic predictors

### Debugging Tips

If your custom engine fails, check:

    # Test your fit function in isolation
    test_model <- my_engine$fit(y ~ x1 + x2, data = my_data)
    summary(test_model)  # Does it work?

    # Test your diagnostics function
    test_diag <- my_engine$diagnostics(test_model, c("x1", "x2"))
    print(test_diag)  # Numeric? Named? Correct length?

    # Check that "higher = worse" convention is satisfied
    # The variable with the highest score should be the one you'd remove first

# 3. Exact Subset Enumeration

## 3.1 When You Need ALL Maximal Subsets

`corrPrune()` returns a single subset. Sometimes you want all maximal subsets:

    # corrPrune: Single subset
    single <- corrPrune(mtcars, threshold = 0.7)
    cat("corrPrune returned:", ncol(single), "variables\n")
    #> corrPrune returned: 5 variables

    # corrSelect: ALL maximal subsets (use higher threshold to ensure subsets exist)
    all_subsets <- corrSelect(mtcars, threshold = 0.9)
    show(all_subsets)
    #> CorrCombo object
    #> -----------------
    #>   Method:      bron-kerbosch
    #>   Correlation: pearson
    #>   Threshold:   0.900
    #>   Subsets:     2 maximal subsets
    #>   Data Rows:   32 used in correlation
    #>   Pivot:       TRUE
    #>
    #> Top combinations:
    #>   No.  Variables                          Avg    Max    Size
    #>   ------------------------------------------------------------
    #>   [ 1] mpg, disp, hp, drat, wt, qsec...  0.527  0.888    10
    #>   [ 2] mpg, cyl, hp, drat, wt, qsec,...  0.531  0.868    10

## 3.2 Exploring Multiple Subsets

When multiple maximal subsets exist, you can explore them:

    if (length(all_subsets@subset_list) > 0) {
      # Display first few subsets
      cat("First few maximal subsets:\n")
      for (i in seq_len(min(3, length(all_subsets@subset_list)))) {
        cat(sprintf("\nSubset %d (avg corr = %.3f):\n", i, all_subsets@avg_corr[i]))
        cat(" ", paste(all_subsets@subset_list[[i]], collapse = ", "), "\n")
      }

      # Analyze subset characteristics
      subset_sizes <- lengths(all_subsets@subset_list)
      cat("\nSubset sizes:\n")
      print(table(subset_sizes))

      cat("\nAverage correlations:\n")
      print(summary(all_subsets@avg_corr))
    } else {
      cat("No subsets found at threshold 0.9\n")
    }
    #> First few maximal subsets:
    #>
    #> Subset 1 (avg corr = 0.527):
    #>   mpg, disp, hp, drat, wt, qsec, vs, am, gear, carb
    #>
    #> Subset 2 (avg corr = 0.531):
    #>   mpg, cyl, hp, drat, wt, qsec, vs, am, gear, carb
    #>
    #> Subset sizes:
    #> subset_sizes
    #> 10
    #>  2
    #>
    #> Average correlations:
    #>    Min. 1st Qu.  Median    Mean 3rd Qu.    Max.
    #>  0.5269  0.5280  0.5290  0.5290  0.5301  0.5311

## 3.3 Extracting Specific Subsets

    if (length(all_subsets@subset_list) > 0) {
      # Extract subset with lowest average correlation
      best_idx <- which.min(all_subsets@avg_corr)
      best_subset <- corrSubset(all_subsets, mtcars, which = best_idx)

      cat("Best subset (lowest avg correlation):\n")
      print(names(best_subset))

      # Extract subset with most predictors
      subset_sizes <- lengths(all_subsets@subset_list)
      largest_idx <- which.max(subset_sizes)
      largest_subset <- corrSubset(all_subsets, mtcars, which = largest_idx)

      cat("\nLargest subset:\n")
      print(names(largest_subset))
    } else {
      cat("No subsets to extract at threshold 0.9\n")
    }
    #> Best subset (lowest avg correlation):
    #>  [1] "mpg"  "disp" "hp"   "drat" "wt"   "qsec" "vs"   "am"   "gear" "carb"
    #>
    #> Largest subset:
    #>  [1] "mpg"  "disp" "hp"   "drat" "wt"   "qsec" "vs"   "am"   "gear" "carb"

## 3.4 Advanced: Domain-Specific Subset Selection

You can define custom criteria for choosing among multiple subsets:

    if (length(all_subsets@subset_list) > 0) {
      # Custom criterion: Prefer subsets with specific variables
      preferred_vars <- c("mpg", "hp", "wt")

      # Compute score: number of preferred variables in each subset
      scores <- sapply(all_subsets@subset_list, function(vars) {
        sum(preferred_vars %in% vars)
      })

      # Select subset with most preferred variables
      best_idx <- which.max(scores)
      cat("Subset with most preferred variables (score:", scores[best_idx], "):\n")
      cat(paste(all_subsets@subset_list[[best_idx]], collapse = ", "), "\n")

      # Extract as data frame
      preferred_subset <- corrSubset(all_subsets, mtcars, which = best_idx)
      print(head(preferred_subset))
    } else {
      cat("No subsets available for custom selection\n")
    }
    #> Subset with most preferred variables (score: 3 ):
    #> mpg, disp, hp, drat, wt, qsec, vs, am, gear, carb
    #>                    mpg disp  hp drat    wt  qsec vs am gear carb
    #> Mazda RX4         21.0  160 110 3.90 2.620 16.46  0  1    4    4
    #> Mazda RX4 Wag     21.0  160 110 3.90 2.875 17.02  0  1    4    4
    #> Datsun 710        22.8  108  93 3.85 2.320 18.61  1  1    4    1
    #> Hornet 4 Drive    21.4  258 110 3.08 3.215 19.44  1  0    3    1
    #> Hornet Sportabout 18.7  360 175 3.15 3.440 17.02  0  0    3    2
    #> Valiant           18.1  225 105 2.76 3.460 20.22  1  0    3    1

# 4. Performance Optimization

## 4.1 Precomputed Correlation Matrices

For repeated pruning with different thresholds, precompute the correlation matrix:

    # Create larger dataset for meaningful timing comparison
    set.seed(123)
    large_data <- as.data.frame(matrix(rnorm(100 * 50), ncol = 50))

    # Benchmark: Recompute correlation every time
    time1 <- median(microbenchmark(
      {
        result1 <- corrPrune(large_data, threshold = 0.7)
        result2 <- corrPrune(large_data, threshold = 0.8)
        result3 <- corrPrune(large_data, threshold = 0.9)
      },
      times = 3,
      unit = "ms"
    )$time) / 1e6  # Convert nanoseconds to milliseconds

    # Benchmark: Compute correlation once, reuse
    cor_matrix <- cor(large_data)
    time2 <- median(microbenchmark(
      {
        result1 <- MatSelect(cor_matrix, threshold = 0.7)
        result2 <- MatSelect(cor_matrix, threshold = 0.8)
        result3 <- MatSelect(cor_matrix, threshold = 0.9)
      },
      times = 3,
      unit = "ms"
    )$time) / 1e6  # Convert nanoseconds to milliseconds

    cat(sprintf("Recomputing each time: %.1f ms\n", time1))
    #> Recomputing each time: 5.1 ms
    cat(sprintf("Precomputed matrix: %.1f ms\n", time2))
    #> Precomputed matrix: 1.2 ms
    cat(sprintf("Speedup: %.1fx faster\n", time1 / time2))
    #> Speedup: 4.4x faster

Use precomputed matrices when:

- Testing multiple thresholds

- Cross-validation workflows

- Sensitivity analysis

## 4.2 Memory Considerations for Large Data

For large datasets (n > 10,000, p > 500):

### Memory-Efficient Correlation Computation

    # Standard (memory-intensive for large n)
    cor_matrix <- cor(large_data)

    # Memory-efficient alternative (for very large n)
    # Process in chunks if needed
    compute_cor_chunked <- function(data, chunk_size = 1000) {
      n <- nrow(data)
      n_chunks <- ceiling(n / chunk_size)

      # Use online algorithm or chunked computation
      # (Implementation depends on your data size)
    }

### Sparse Correlation Matrices

If most correlations are low, consider sparse storage:

    # Convert to sparse format (requires Matrix package)
    library(Matrix)

    # Compute correlation
    cor_mat <- cor(data)

    # Threshold and convert to sparse
    cor_sparse <- cor_mat
    cor_sparse[abs(cor_sparse) < 0.3] <- 0  # Set low correlations to 0
    cor_sparse <- Matrix(cor_sparse, sparse = TRUE)

    # Memory savings
    object.size(cor_mat)
    object.size(cor_sparse)

## 4.3 Parallel Processing Strategies

For multiple independent pruning operations:

    library(parallel)

    # Create cluster
    cl <- makeCluster(detectCores() - 1)

    # Export functions to cluster
    clusterEvalQ(cl, library(corrselect))

    # Parallel pruning with different thresholds
    thresholds <- seq(0.5, 0.9, by = 0.1)
    results <- parLapply(cl, thresholds, function(thresh) {
      corrPrune(my_data, threshold = thresh)
    })

    # Clean up
    stopCluster(cl)

Note: corrselect itself doesn’t parallelize internally (for reproducibility), but you can parallelize across multiple analyses.

## 4.4 Choosing the Right Mode

Decision tree for mode selection:

    p ≤ 15:  Use "exact" (fast enough, guaranteed optimal)
    15 < p ≤ 25:  Use "exact" if time permits, "greedy" if speed critical
    p > 25:  Use "greedy" or "auto"
    p > 100: Always use "greedy"

# 5. Troubleshooting

## 5.1 Common Errors and Solutions

### Error: “No valid subsets found”

Cause: Threshold too strict - all variables exceed it

    # Example: All correlations > 0.9
    set.seed(123)
    x <- rnorm(100)
    high_cor_data <- data.frame(
      x1 = x,
      x2 = x + rnorm(100, sd = 0.01),
      x3 = x + rnorm(100, sd = 0.01)
    )

    tryCatch({
      corrPrune(high_cor_data, threshold = 0.5)
    }, error = function(e) {
      cat("Error:", e$message, "\n")
    })
    #> Error: No valid subsets found that satisfy the threshold constraint

Solutions: 1. Increase threshold

2. Use `force_in` to keep at least one variable

3. Check data for near-duplicates

    # Solution 1: Increase threshold
    result <- corrPrune(high_cor_data, threshold = 0.95)
    #> Error in `corrPrune()`:
    #> ! No valid subsets found that satisfy the threshold constraint
    print(names(result))
    #> [1] "x1" "x2" "x3"

    # Solution 2: Force keep one variable
    result <- corrPrune(high_cor_data, threshold = 0.5, force_in = "x1")
    #> Error in `corrPrune()`:
    #> ! No valid subsets found that satisfy the threshold constraint
    print(names(result))
    #> [1] "x1" "x2" "x3"

### Error: force_in variables conflict with threshold

Cause: Variables in `force_in` have |correlation| > threshold

    # x1 and x2 are highly correlated
    tryCatch({
      corrPrune(high_cor_data, threshold = 0.5, force_in = c("x1", "x2"))
    }, error = function(e) {
      cat("Error:", e$message, "\n")
    })
    #> Error: Variables in 'force_in' violate the threshold constraint. Example: 'x1' and 'x2' have association 1.000 > 0.500

Solution: Either increase threshold or reduce `force_in` set

### Error: VIF computation fails in modelPrune()

Cause: Perfect multicollinearity (R² = 1)

    # Create perfect multicollinearity
    perfect_data <- data.frame(
      y = rnorm(100),
      x1 = rnorm(100),
      x2 = rnorm(100)
    )
    perfect_data$x3 <- perfect_data$x1 + perfect_data$x2  # Perfect collinearity

    tryCatch({
      modelPrune(y ~ ., data = perfect_data, limit = 5)
    }, error = function(e) {
      cat("Error:", e$message, "\n")
    })
    #> Warning in summary.lm(fit): essentially perfect fit: summary may be unreliable
    #> Warning in summary.lm(fit): essentially perfect fit: summary may be unreliable
    #> Warning in summary.lm(fit): essentially perfect fit: summary may be unreliable
    #>               y          x1          x2
    #> 1   -0.71524219 -0.07355602 -0.60189285
    #> 2   -0.75268897 -1.16865142 -0.99369859
    #> 3   -0.93853870 -0.63474826  1.02678506
    #> 4   -1.05251328 -0.02884155  0.75106130
    #> 5   -0.43715953  0.67069597 -1.50916654
    #> 6    0.33117917 -1.65054654 -0.09514745
    #> 7   -2.01421050 -0.34975424 -0.89594782
    #> 8    0.21198043  0.75640644 -2.07075107
    #> 9    1.23667505 -0.53880916  0.15012013
    #> 10   2.03757402  0.22729192 -0.07921171
    #> 11   1.30117599  0.49222857 -0.09736927
    #> 12   0.75677476  0.26783502  0.21615254
    #> 13  -1.72673040  0.65325768  0.88246516
    #> 14  -0.60150671 -0.12270866  0.20559750
    #> 15  -0.35204646 -0.41367651 -0.61643584
    #> 16   0.70352390 -2.64314895 -0.73479925
    #> 17  -0.10567133 -0.09294102 -0.13180279
    #> 18  -1.25864863  0.43028470  0.31001699
    #> 19   1.68443571  0.53539884 -1.03968035
    #> 20   0.91139129 -0.55527835 -0.18430887
    #> 21   0.23743027  1.77950291  0.96726726
    #> 22   1.21810861  0.28642442 -0.10828009
    #> 23  -1.33877429  0.12631586 -0.69842067
    #> 24   0.66082030  1.27226678 -0.27594517
    #> 25  -0.52291238 -0.71846622  1.11464855
    #> 26   0.68374552 -0.45033862  0.55004396
    #> 27  -0.06082195  2.39745248  1.23667580
    #> 28   0.63296071  0.01112919  0.13909786
    #> 29   1.33551762  1.63356842  0.41027510
    #> 30   0.00729009 -1.43850664 -0.55845691
    #> 31   1.01755864 -0.19051680  0.60537067
    #> 32  -1.18843404  0.37842390 -0.50633354
    #> 33  -0.72160444  0.30003855 -1.42056550
    #> 34   1.51921771 -1.00563626  0.12799297
    #> 35   0.37738797  0.01925927  1.94585122
    #> 36  -2.05222282 -1.07742065  0.80091434
    #> 37  -1.36403745  0.71270333  1.16525339
    #> 38  -0.20078102  1.08477509  0.35885572
    #> 39   0.86577940 -2.22498770 -0.60855718
    #> 40  -0.10188326  1.23569346 -0.20224086
    #> 41   0.62418747 -1.24104450 -0.27324811
    #> 42   0.95900538  0.45476927 -0.46869978
    #> 43   1.67105483  0.65990264  0.70416728
    #> 44   0.05601673 -0.19988983 -1.19736350
    #> 45  -0.05198191 -0.64511396  0.86636613
    #> 46  -1.75323736  0.16532102  0.86415249
    #> 47   0.09932759  0.43881870 -1.19862236
    #> 48  -0.57185006  0.88330282  0.63949200
    #> 49  -0.97400958 -2.05233698  2.43022665
    #> 50  -0.17990623 -1.63637927 -0.55721548
    #> 51   1.01494317  1.43040234  0.84490424
    #> 52  -1.99274849  1.04662885 -0.78220185
    #> 53  -0.42727929  0.43528895  1.11071142
    #> 54   0.11663728  0.71517841  0.24982472
    #> 55  -0.89320757  0.91717492  1.65191539
    #> 56   0.33390294 -2.66092280 -1.45897073
    #> 57   0.41142992  1.11027710 -0.05129789
    #> 58  -0.03303616 -0.48498760 -0.52692518
    #> 59  -2.46589819  0.23061683 -0.19726487
    #> 60   2.57145815 -0.29515780 -0.62957874
    #> 61  -0.20529926  0.87196495 -0.83384358
    #> 62   0.65119328 -0.34847245  0.57872237
    #> 63   0.27376649  0.51850377 -1.08758071
    #> 64   1.02467323 -0.39068498  1.48403093
    #> 65   0.81765945 -1.09278721 -1.18620659
    #> 66  -0.20979317  1.21001051  0.10107915
    #> 67   0.37816777  0.74090001  0.53298929
    #> 68  -0.94540883  1.72426224  0.58673534
    #> 69   0.85692301  0.06515393 -0.30174666
    #> 70  -0.46103834  1.12500275  0.07950200
    #> 71   2.41677335  1.97541905  0.96126415
    #> 72  -1.65104890 -0.28148212 -1.45646592
    #> 73  -0.46398724 -1.32295111 -0.78173971
    #> 74   0.82537986 -0.23935157  0.32040231
    #> 75   0.51013255 -0.21404124 -0.44478198
    #> 76  -0.58948104  0.15168050  1.37000399
    #> 77  -0.99678074  1.71230498  0.67325386
    #> 78   0.14447570 -0.32614389  0.07216675
    #> 79  -0.01430741  0.37300466 -1.50775732
    #> 80  -1.79028124 -0.22768406  0.02610023
    #> 81   0.03455107  0.02045071 -0.31641587
    #> 82   0.19023032  0.31405766 -0.10234651
    #> 83   0.17472640  1.32821470 -1.18155923
    #> 84  -1.05501704  0.12131838  0.49865804
    #> 85   0.47613328  0.71284232 -1.03895644
    #> 86   1.37857014  0.77886003 -0.22622198
    #> 87   0.45623640  0.91477327  0.38142583
    #> 88  -1.13558847 -0.57439455 -0.78351579
    #> 89  -0.43564547  1.62688121  0.58299141
    #> 90   0.34610362 -0.38095674 -1.31651040
    #> 91  -0.64704563 -0.10578417 -2.80977468
    #> 92  -2.15764634  1.40405027  0.46496799
    #> 93   0.88425082  1.29408391  0.84053983
    #> 94  -0.82947761 -1.08999187 -0.28584542
    #> 95  -0.57356027 -0.87307100  0.50412625
    #> 96   1.50390061 -1.35807906 -1.15591653
    #> 97  -0.77414493  0.18184719 -0.12714861
    #> 98   0.84573154  0.16484087 -1.94151838
    #> 99  -1.26068288  0.36411469  1.18118089
    #> 100 -0.35454240  0.55215771  1.85991086

Solution: Use `corrPrune()` first to remove perfect collinearity:

    # Two-step approach
    step1 <- corrPrune(perfect_data[, -1], threshold = 0.99)
    step2_data <- data.frame(y = perfect_data$y, step1)
    result <- modelPrune(y ~ ., data = step2_data, limit = 5)
    #> Warning in summary.lm(fit): essentially perfect fit: summary may be unreliable
    #> Warning in summary.lm(fit): essentially perfect fit: summary may be unreliable
    #> Warning in summary.lm(fit): essentially perfect fit: summary may be unreliable
    print(attr(result, "selected_vars"))
    #> [1] "x1" "x2"

## 5.2 Threshold Selection Guidance

### For corrPrune() (Correlation Threshold)

Conservative (strict):

- threshold = 0.5: Very low redundancy, may lose information

- Use when: Interpretability is critical, small sample size

Moderate (recommended):

- threshold = 0.7: Balances redundancy and information retention

- Use when: Standard regression, general analysis

Lenient:

- threshold = 0.9: Only removes near-duplicates

- Use when: Large sample size, prediction focus

### For modelPrune() (VIF Limit)

Strict:

- limit = 2: Very low multicollinearity, may over-prune

- Use when: Small sample size, interpretability critical

Moderate (recommended):

- limit = 5: Standard threshold in literature

- Use when: General regression analysis

Lenient:

- limit = 10: Tolerates more multicollinearity

- Use when: Large sample size, prediction focus

### Empirical Approach: Visualize First

    data(mtcars)

    # Visualize correlation distribution
    cor_mat <- cor(mtcars)
    cor_vec <- cor_mat[upper.tri(cor_mat)]

    par(mfrow = c(1, 2))

    # Histogram of correlations
    hist(abs(cor_vec), breaks = 30,
         main = "Distribution of |Correlations|",
         xlab = "|Correlation|",
         col = "lightblue")
    abline(v = c(0.5, 0.7, 0.9), col = c("red", "blue", "green"), lwd = 2, lty = 2)
    legend("topright",
           legend = c("0.5 (strict)", "0.7 (moderate)", "0.9 (lenient)"),
           col = c("red", "blue", "green"), lwd = 2, lty = 2,
           bty = "o", bg = "white")

    # Subset size vs threshold
    thresholds <- seq(0.3, 0.95, by = 0.05)
    sizes <- sapply(thresholds, function(t) {
      tryCatch({
        ncol(corrPrune(mtcars, threshold = t))
      }, error = function(e) NA)
    })

    plot(thresholds, sizes, type = "b",
         xlab = "Threshold",
         ylab = "Number of Variables Retained",
         main = "Threshold Sensitivity",
         col = "blue", lwd = 2)
    abline(h = ncol(mtcars), lty = 2, col = "gray")
    text(0.3, ncol(mtcars), "Original", pos = 3)

Strategy: Choose threshold where curve begins to plateau.

## 5.3 Handling Edge Cases

### Single Predictor After Pruning

    # Very strict threshold may leave only 1 variable
    strict_result <- corrPrune(mtcars, threshold = 0.3)
    cat("Variables remaining:", ncol(strict_result), "\n")
    #> Variables remaining: 2

    # Check if result is usable
    if (ncol(strict_result) < 2) {
      cat("Warning: Only 1 variable remaining. Consider:\n")
      cat("  1. Increasing threshold\n")
      cat("  2. Using force_in to keep important variables\n")
    }

### All Variables Removed

    # Impossible threshold
    tryCatch({
      corrPrune(mtcars, threshold = 0.0)
    }, error = function(e) {
      cat("Error:", e$message, "\n")
    })
    #> Error: `threshold` must be in the range (0, 1].

### Mixed-Type Data

    # Create mixed data
    mixed_data <- mtcars
    mixed_data$cyl <- factor(mixed_data$cyl)
    mixed_data$am <- factor(mixed_data$am)

    # Use assocSelect for mixed types
    result <- assocSelect(mixed_data, threshold = 0.6)
    show(result)
    #> CorrCombo object
    #> -----------------
    #>   Method:      bron-kerbosch
    #>   Correlation: mixed
    #>   AssocMethod: numeric_factor = eta, numeric_numeric = pearson, factor_numeric
    #>                = eta, factor_factor = cramersv
    #>   Threshold:   0.600
    #>   Subsets:     20 maximal subsets
    #>   Data Rows:   32 used in correlation
    #>   Pivot:       TRUE
    #>
    #> Top combinations:
    #>   No.  Variables                          Avg    Max    Size
    #>   ------------------------------------------------------------
    #>   [ 1] wt, vs, gear, carb                0.436  0.583     4
    #>   [ 2] vs, am, carb                      0.265  0.570     3
    #>   [ 3] wt, qsec, gear                    0.324  0.583     3
    #>   [ 4] disp, carb, am                    0.348  0.591     3
    #>   [ 5] drat, vs, carb                    0.367  0.570     3
    #>   ... (15 more combinations)

# 6. Best Practices

## 6.1 Workflow Recommendations

### For Exploratory Analysis

    # 1. Visualize correlations
    corrplot::corrplot(cor(data), method = "circle")

    # 2. Try multiple thresholds
    results <- lapply(c(0.5, 0.7, 0.9), function(t) {
      corrPrune(data, threshold = t)
    })

    # 3. Compare subset sizes
    sapply(results, ncol)

    # 4. Choose based on your needs
    final_data <- results[[2]]  # threshold = 0.7

### For Publication-Quality Analysis

    # 1. Use exact mode for reproducibility and optimality
    data_pruned <- corrPrune(data, threshold = 0.7, mode = "exact")

    # 2. Document in methods section
    cat(sprintf(
      "Variables were pruned using corrselect::corrPrune() with threshold = 0.7, ",
      "exact mode, retaining %d of %d original predictors.",
      ncol(data_pruned), ncol(data)
    ))

    # 3. Report which variables were removed
    removed <- attr(data_pruned, "removed_vars")
    cat("Removed variables:", paste(removed, collapse = ", "))

## 6.2 Combining with Other Methods

    # Comprehensive variable selection pipeline
    pipeline <- function(data, response) {
      # Step 1: Remove correlations
      step1 <- corrPrune(data, threshold = 0.7, mode = "auto")

      # Step 2: VIF cleanup
      step2_data <- data.frame(response = response, step1)
      step2 <- modelPrune(response ~ ., data = step2_data, limit = 5)

      # Step 3: Feature importance (optional)
      if (requireNamespace("Boruta", quietly = TRUE)) {
        boruta_result <- Boruta::Boruta(response ~ ., data = step2)
        important <- Boruta::getSelectedAttributes(boruta_result)
        final_data <- step2[, c("response", important)]
      } else {
        final_data <- step2
      }

      final_data
    }

# 7. Summary

## Key Takeaways

### Algorithms

- Use exact mode for p ≤ 20 (optimal, reproducible)

- Use greedy mode for p > 20 (fast, near-optimal)

- Use auto mode to let corrselect decide

### Custom Engines

- Integrate any modeling package (INLA, mgcv, brms)

- Define custom pruning criteria (AIC, BIC, p-values)

- Two required functions: `fit` and `diagnostics`

### Optimization

- Precompute correlation matrices for multiple thresholds

- Use greedy mode for large p

- Parallelize across analyses, not within

### Troubleshooting

- Visualize correlation distribution before choosing threshold

- Use `force_in` to protect important variables

- Two-step pruning (corrPrune → modelPrune) for robustness

# 8. References

Algorithms:

- Eppstein, D., Löffler, M., & Strash, D. (2010). Listing all maximal cliques in sparse graphs in near-optimal time. Symposium on Algorithms and Computation.

- Bron, C., & Kerbosch, J. (1973). Algorithm 457: Finding all cliques of an undirected graph. Communications of the ACM, 16(9), 575-577.

Multicollinearity:

- O’Brien, R. M. (2007). A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Quality & Quantity, 41(5), 673-690.

- Belsley, D. A., Kuh, E., & Welsch, R. E. (1980). Regression Diagnostics. Wiley.

Software:

- INLA: Rue, H., Martino, S., & Chopin, N. (2009). Approximate Bayesian inference for latent Gaussian models. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B, 71(2), 319-392.

- mgcv: Wood, S. N. (2017). Generalized Additive Models: An Introduction with R (2nd ed.). Chapman and Hall/CRC.

## See Also

- `vignette("quickstart")` - 5-minute introduction

- `vignette("workflows")` - Real-world examples

- `vignette("comparison")` - vs caret, Boruta, glmnet

- `vignette("corrselect_vignette")` - Original exact methods vignette

- `?corrPrune` - Association-based pruning

- `?modelPrune` - Model-based pruning

- `?corrSelect` - Exact subset enumeration

## Session Info

    sessionInfo()
    #> R version 4.5.2 (2025-10-31 ucrt)
    #> Platform: x86_64-w64-mingw32/x64
    #> Running under: Windows 11 x64 (build 26200)
    #>
    #> Matrix products: default
    #>   LAPACK version 3.12.1
    #>
    #> locale:
    #> [1] LC_COLLATE=en_US.UTF-8  LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8    LC_MONETARY=en_US.UTF-8
    #> [4] LC_NUMERIC=C            LC_TIME=en_US.UTF-8
    #>
    #> time zone: Europe/Luxembourg
    #> tzcode source: internal
    #>
    #> attached base packages:
    #> [1] stats     graphics  grDevices utils     datasets  methods   base
    #>
    #> other attached packages:
    #> [1] microbenchmark_1.5.0 corrselect_3.2.1
    #>
    #> loaded via a namespace (and not attached):
    #>  [1] vctrs_0.7.1       svglite_2.2.2     cli_3.6.5         knitr_1.51
    #>  [5] rlang_1.1.7       xfun_0.55         otel_0.2.0        textshaping_1.0.4
    #>  [9] S7_0.2.1          jsonlite_2.0.0    glue_1.8.0        htmltools_0.5.9
    #> [13] sass_0.4.10       rmarkdown_2.30    evaluate_1.0.5    jquerylib_0.1.4
    #> [17] MASS_7.3-65       fastmap_1.2.0     yaml_2.3.12       lifecycle_1.0.5
    #> [21] compiler_4.5.2    Rcpp_1.1.1        systemfonts_1.3.1 digest_0.6.39
    #> [25] R6_2.6.1          pillar_1.11.1     bslib_0.9.0       tools_4.5.2
    #> [29] cachem_1.1.0