Machine Learning Academy · Lección

Ciclo de entrenamiento: pérdida, optimizador y épocas

Ciclo de entrenamiento: pérdida, optimizador y épocas es una lección gratuita de Machine Learning Academy en CoddyKit. Esta es la lección 4 de 4. Puedes leer la lección completa abajo gratuitamente — luego la practicas en el navegador con un editor de código integrado y un tutor de IA 24/7. Forma parte de la ruta de aprendizaje de Machine Learning Academy, y tu progreso se sincroniza en la web y la app de CoddyKit. El curso de Machine Learning Academy incluye 4 lecciones en total.

Partes de esta lección aún no han sido traducidas y se muestran en inglés.

The Four Steps of Every Training Loop

The PyTorch training loop has four mandatory steps that repeat for every batch: (1) zero gradients, (2) forward pass, (3) backward pass, and (4) optimizer step. Skipping or reordering these steps produces wrong results silently — gradients accumulate, parameters update incorrectly, or memory leaks. Internalising this pattern is the most important habit for training neural networks with PyTorch.

import torch
import torch.nn as nn
import torch.optim as optim

model = nn.Linear(2, 1)
optimizer = optim.SGD(model.parameters(), lr=0.01)
criterion = nn.MSELoss()

X = torch.randn(20, 2)
y = torch.randn(20, 1)

for step in range(1):
    optimizer.zero_grad()           # (1) zero grads
    y_pred = model(X)               # (2) forward
    loss = criterion(y_pred, y)     # (2) loss
    loss.backward()                 # (3) backward
    optimizer.step()                # (4) update
    print('Loss:', loss.item())

Loss Functions: Choosing the Right Criterion

The loss function measures how wrong the model's predictions are. PyTorch's nn module provides many: nn.MSELoss for regression (mean squared error), nn.CrossEntropyLoss for multi-class classification (combines log-softmax and NLL), and nn.BCEWithLogitsLoss for binary classification (combines sigmoid and binary cross-entropy). Using the wrong loss for your task is a common beginner mistake that prevents learning.

import torch
import torch.nn as nn

# Regression
mse = nn.MSELoss()
y_pred = torch.tensor([2.5, 3.0])
y_true = torch.tensor([2.0, 3.5])
print('MSE:', mse(y_pred, y_true).item())

# Multi-class: logits (raw scores), not softmax
ce = nn.CrossEntropyLoss()
logits = torch.tensor([[2.0, 0.5, 1.0]])
labels = torch.tensor([0])
print('CE:', ce(logits, labels).item())

Optimizers: SGD, Adam, and AdamW

An optimizer uses computed gradients to update model parameters. SGD (Stochastic Gradient Descent) is the classic optimizer; adding momentum accelerates convergence. Adam adapts the learning rate per parameter using first and second moment estimates, converging faster in practice. AdamW adds proper weight decay (L2 regularisation) and is the default choice for transformer models. All optimizers are in torch.optim.

import torch.optim as optim
import torch.nn as nn

model = nn.Linear(4, 2)

# Stochastic Gradient Descent with momentum
sgd = optim.SGD(model.parameters(), lr=0.01, momentum=0.9)

# Adam: adaptive learning rate
adam = optim.Adam(model.parameters(), lr=0.001,
                  betas=(0.9, 0.999))

# AdamW: Adam + proper weight decay
adamw = optim.AdamW(model.parameters(), lr=0.001,
                    weight_decay=0.01)

Iterating Over Epochs and Batches

Training typically runs for many epochs — complete passes through the training dataset. Within each epoch you iterate over batches (subsets of the data). Using a DataLoader handles shuffling and batching automatically. Tracking average loss per epoch lets you monitor whether the model is converging. Printing every epoch (or every N batches) gives you visibility into training progress.

import torch
from torch.utils.data import TensorDataset, DataLoader
import torch.nn as nn
import torch.optim as optim

X = torch.randn(200, 4)
y = torch.randn(200, 1)
dataset = TensorDataset(X, y)
loader = DataLoader(dataset, batch_size=32, shuffle=True)

model = nn.Linear(4, 1)
optimizer = optim.Adam(model.parameters())
criterion = nn.MSELoss()

for epoch in range(3):
    total_loss = 0
    for X_batch, y_batch in loader:
        optimizer.zero_grad()
        pred = model(X_batch)
        loss = criterion(pred, y_batch)
        loss.backward()
        optimizer.step()
        total_loss += loss.item()
    print(f'Epoch {epoch}: avg_loss={total_loss/len(loader):.4f}')

DataLoader: Batching and Shuffling Data

DataLoader wraps a Dataset and provides an iterator that yields batches. Key parameters: batch_size controls how many samples per gradient update; shuffle=True randomises order each epoch (crucial for training); num_workers enables parallel data loading. For custom datasets, subclass torch.utils.data.Dataset and implement __len__ and __getitem__.

import torch
from torch.utils.data import Dataset, DataLoader

class MyDataset(Dataset):
    def __init__(self, X, y):
        self.X = X
        self.y = y

    def __len__(self):
        return len(self.X)

    def __getitem__(self, idx):
        return self.X[idx], self.y[idx]

X = torch.randn(100, 5)
y = torch.randint(0, 3, (100,))
dataset = MyDataset(X, y)
loader = DataLoader(dataset, batch_size=16, shuffle=True)

X_batch, y_batch = next(iter(loader))
print(X_batch.shape)   # torch.Size([16, 5])

CrossEntropyLoss: Logits and Class Indices

nn.CrossEntropyLoss expects raw logits (unnormalised scores), not softmax probabilities. It internally applies log-softmax and computes negative log-likelihood. Target labels should be integer class indices (not one-hot vectors). This is the correct loss for multi-class classification and is more numerically stable than manually applying softmax then NLLLoss. The model's final layer should NOT have a softmax activation when using this loss.

import torch
import torch.nn as nn

criterion = nn.CrossEntropyLoss()

# Batch of 4 samples, 3 classes
logits = torch.tensor([
    [2.1, 0.5, 0.3],
    [0.1, 3.0, 0.2],
    [0.8, 0.9, 2.0],
    [1.5, 0.1, 0.4]
])

# True labels as class indices (not one-hot)
labels = torch.tensor([0, 1, 2, 0])

loss = criterion(logits, labels)
print('Loss:', loss.item())

Tracking Accuracy During Training

Loss decreasing confirms the model is learning, but accuracy tells you whether predictions are actually correct. For multi-class classification, convert logits to predicted class with torch.argmax along the class dimension, then compare with true labels. Tracking both training loss and training accuracy, and optionally validation accuracy, gives a complete picture of learning dynamics.

import torch

def compute_accuracy(logits, labels):
    preds = torch.argmax(logits, dim=1)
    correct = (preds == labels).sum().item()
    return correct / len(labels)

logits = torch.tensor([
    [2.0, 0.1, 0.3],
    [0.1, 0.2, 3.5],
    [1.0, 0.5, 0.2]
])
labels = torch.tensor([0, 2, 0])

print('Accuracy:', compute_accuracy(logits, labels))
# 1.0 (all three correct)

Validation Loop: Evaluating Without Updating

After each training epoch, run a validation loop to assess performance on unseen data. Wrap it with torch.no_grad() to disable gradient computation and call model.eval() to deactivate Dropout and BatchNorm stochasticity. Comparing training loss vs validation loss is the primary tool for detecting overfitting — when validation loss rises while training loss continues to fall, the model has overfit the training set.

import torch

def validate(model, val_loader, criterion):
    model.eval()
    total_loss = 0
    with torch.no_grad():
        for X_batch, y_batch in val_loader:
            logits = model(X_batch)
            loss = criterion(logits, y_batch)
            total_loss += loss.item()
    model.train()   # restore training mode
    return total_loss / len(val_loader)

# Usage inside training loop:
# val_loss = validate(model, val_loader, criterion)
# print(f'Val loss: {val_loss:.4f}')

Learning Rate Scheduling

A fixed learning rate often leads to slow convergence or oscillation near the minimum. Learning rate schedulers automatically adjust the LR during training. StepLR reduces LR by a factor every N epochs; CosineAnnealingLR smoothly decays to near zero following a cosine curve; ReduceLROnPlateau decreases LR when validation loss stops improving. Schedulers are stepped after the optimizer, typically once per epoch.

import torch.optim as optim
import torch.nn as nn

model = nn.Linear(4, 2)
optimizer = optim.Adam(model.parameters(), lr=0.01)

# Decay LR by 0.5 every 2 epochs
scheduler = optim.lr_scheduler.StepLR(
    optimizer, step_size=2, gamma=0.5
)

for epoch in range(6):
    # ... training code ...
    scheduler.step()
    print(f'Epoch {epoch}: LR={scheduler.get_last_lr()[0]}')
# LR: 0.01, 0.01, 0.005, 0.005, 0.0025, 0.0025

Saving Checkpoints During Training

Training can take hours or days — saving checkpoints periodically protects against crashes and lets you resume from the best point. A good checkpoint stores the model state dict, optimizer state dict (contains momentum terms), epoch number, and best validation metric. Restoring the optimizer state allows training to resume exactly where it left off, including momentum buffers that affect subsequent updates.

import torch

def save_checkpoint(model, optimizer, epoch, loss, path):
    torch.save({
        'epoch': epoch,
        'model_state_dict': model.state_dict(),
        'optimizer_state_dict': optimizer.state_dict(),
        'loss': loss
    }, path)

def load_checkpoint(model, optimizer, path):
    ckpt = torch.load(path)
    model.load_state_dict(ckpt['model_state_dict'])
    optimizer.load_state_dict(ckpt['optimizer_state_dict'])
    return ckpt['epoch'], ckpt['loss']

Complete Training Loop: Putting It Together

A production-quality training loop combines all the pieces: DataLoader for batching, the four-step update per batch, a validation pass per epoch, learning rate scheduling, loss and accuracy tracking, and checkpoint saving. The code below shows the full pattern with a simple classification model. Adapting this template to any supervised learning problem requires changing only the model, dataset, and loss function.

import torch, torch.nn as nn, torch.optim as optim
from torch.utils.data import TensorDataset, DataLoader

X_tr = torch.randn(160, 4); y_tr = torch.randint(0, 3, (160,))
X_val = torch.randn(40, 4); y_val = torch.randint(0, 3, (40,))
tr_loader = DataLoader(TensorDataset(X_tr, y_tr), 32, shuffle=True)
val_loader = DataLoader(TensorDataset(X_val, y_val), 32)

model = nn.Sequential(nn.Linear(4, 16), nn.ReLU(), nn.Linear(16, 3))
optimizer = optim.Adam(model.parameters())
criterion = nn.CrossEntropyLoss()

for epoch in range(5):
    model.train()
    for Xb, yb in tr_loader:
        optimizer.zero_grad()
        loss = criterion(model(Xb), yb)
        loss.backward(); optimizer.step()
    model.eval()
    with torch.no_grad():
        val_loss = sum(criterion(model(Xb), yb).item()
                       for Xb, yb in val_loader) / len(val_loader)
    print(f'Epoch {epoch}: val_loss={val_loss:.3f}')

Quick Check

Test your understanding of Machine Learning with Python concepts from this lesson.

Lesson Recap

In this lesson you learned: the four-step training loop (zero_grad, forward, backward, step) is the foundation of all PyTorch training, DataLoader handles batching and shuffling automatically, and CrossEntropyLoss with logits is the standard choice for classification. Next up we explore learning rate scheduling and the impact of the learning rate on training dynamics.

Preguntas frecuentes

¿La lección «Ciclo de entrenamiento: pérdida, optimizador y épocas» es gratis?

Sí — el texto completo de «Ciclo de entrenamiento: pérdida, optimizador y épocas» es gratis para leer aquí en la web. Para practicarla de forma interactiva (editor de código integrado y tutor de IA 24/7) y desbloquear el resto del curso de Machine Learning Academy, actualiza a CoddyKit PRO. El curso de Machine Learning Academy incluye 4 lecciones en total.

¿Qué aprenderé en «Ciclo de entrenamiento: pérdida, optimizador y épocas»?

Escribirá el ciclo de entrenamiento de PyTorch: zero_grad, propagación hacia delante, cálculo de CrossEntropyLoss, retropropagación y optimizer.step, y seguirá la pérdida y la exactitud durante las é… Practicas Machine Learning Academy con código real que ejecutas directamente en el navegador, y un tutor de IA 24/7 responde tus preguntas mientras trabajas en la lección.

¿Necesito experiencia previa para empezar Machine Learning Academy?

No se requiere experiencia previa. Machine Learning Academy en CoddyKit está estructurado para principiantes hasta estudiantes avanzados, así que puedes empezar aquí o desde el inicio y avanzar a tu ritmo. Esta es la lección 4 de 4.

¿Cuánto tiempo toma la lección «Ciclo de entrenamiento: pérdida, optimizador y épocas»?

La mayoría de las lecciones de CoddyKit toman alrededor de 5–10 minutos. Cada una es compacta e interactiva, así que avanzas constantemente y retomas exactamente por donde dejaste en la web y la app.

¿Puedo escribir y ejecutar código en esta lección de Machine Learning Academy?

Sí. Cada lección de Machine Learning Academy incluye un editor de código integrado, así que escribes y ejecutas código real directamente en tu navegador y obtienes retroalimentación instantánea de IA — sin configuración local necesaria.

Todas las lecciones de este curso

Tensores de PyTorch: creación, operaciones y transferencia a la GPU
Autograd: diferenciación automática para la retropropagación
Creación de una red de propagación hacia delante con nn.Module
Ciclo de entrenamiento: pérdida, optimizador y épocas

← Volver a Machine Learning Academy