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Convolution kernel

A convolution kernel is a small array or tensor of weights applied across local input regions to compute weighted responses and detect or transform patterns.

How 11 Manning books explain it

Natural Language Processing in Action, Second Edition

A convolutional kernel is a parameter matrix or tensor whose sliding weighted operation detects a local pattern in an input sequence.

How it is used
Detects local patterns in ordered text representations and supplies features for convolutional text classification.
How deep it goes
Works from a stencil analogy through weighted Python loops, multichannel PyTorch weights, and kernel-dependent output shapes.
Examples
Uses an adjacent-value average, an adverb–verb–noun match, and a handcrafted Morse-code dot detector.
What you can do after
Build it from scratch as a sliding weighted calculation, then apply it via PyTorch Conv1d to multichannel text features.

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Math and Architectures of Deep Learning

A learned kernel applied in a convolution layer to detect local spatial patterns in images.

How it is used
Captures local patterns in arrays, images, and video by weighting neighboring values during convolution.
How deep it goes
Derives sliding weighted sums and output sizing, then relates convolution to matrix multiplication and backpropagation.
Examples
Uses moving-average curves, edge-detection signals, noisy text images, image boundaries, and a moving-ball video.
What you can do after
Apply it via PyTorch Conv1d, Conv2d, and Conv3d by setting kernel weights and tensor shapes for demonstrations.

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Inside Deep Learning: Math, Algorithms, Models

A learned array of weights applied over local input regions to compute convolution outputs.

How it is used
Applies local, shared weights to encode spatial relationships and detect useful patterns in image tensors.
How deep it goes
Defines shapes, sliding arithmetic, channels, padding, and multiple filters, but defers full convolution-layer theory.
Examples
Uses 1D difference detection, 2D numeral images, blur and edge kernels, MNIST, and PyTorch convolution layers.
What you can do after
Build it from scratch with nested loops, choose padding and kernel shapes, and configure multiple filters with PyTorch.

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Deep Learning with PyTorch, Second Edition

A small learned filter window applied over local regions of an input to compute weighted sums.

How it is used
Uses shared kernel weights to detect local image patterns wherever they occur.
How deep it goes
Works through a 3 × 3 weighted sum, multichannel weight shapes, and learned versus hand-set filters; leaves continuous convolution aside.
Examples
Demonstrates RGB-image convolution, a neighborhood-averaging blur, and a vertical-edge detector.
What you can do after
Apply it via PyTorch `nn.Conv2d` to specify kernel size and channel counts, and inspect the resulting weight shape.

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Grokking AI Algorithms, Second Edition

A convolutional filter is a small learned grid of weights that detects a particular local pattern in image data.

How it is used
Extracts local image features in convolutional layers and supports learned upsampling in a U-Net decoder.
How deep it goes
Works through sliding dot products and feature-map shapes, then sketches NumPy implementations; does not derive weight updates.
Examples
Uses a numeric filter-row calculation and eight 3×3 filters scanning an 8×8 noisy image.
What you can do after
Build it from scratch using NumPy-style loops to scan image patches and calculate feature maps.

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Deep Learning with Python, Third Edition

The learned weight tensor used by a convolution to transform local input patches.

How it is used
Explains how convolutional layers apply learned local transformations and produce spatial response maps for image classification.
How deep it goes
Defines patch size, filter count, and response maps, then works through filter visualization without deriving kernel-weight calculations.
Examples
Uses a 3 × 3 MNIST convolution and filter-activation optimization on a pretrained Xception model.
What you can do after
Diagnose/debug with it by inspecting a filter’s response map or optimizing an input image to reveal its preferred pattern.

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Deep Learning with R, Third Edition

A convolution kernel is a learned weight matrix that transforms each extracted input patch into an output feature vector.

How it is used
Explains how convolutional layers extract local visual patterns and build feature maps for image classification.
How deep it goes
Explains patches, channels, response maps, padding, and strides, but stops short of formal weight calculations.
Examples
Uses MNIST dimensions, 3 × 3 and 5 × 5 windows, and channel visualizations of a cat image.
What you can do after
Evaluate learned patterns by inspecting convolutional activations and their spatial response maps.

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Graph Neural Networks in Action

A learnable weighted operation that transforms input data to emphasize particular patterns or features.

How it is used
Uses learned filters to extract localized patterns for image tasks and graph-based node prediction.
How deep it goes
Explains the layer pipeline and spatial-versus-spectral distinction without deriving the convolution operator mathematically.
Examples
Uses an animal image, a pixel grid, graph nodes, and graph signals to contrast convolution settings.
What you can do after
Understand how learned filters transform grid or graph data into task-relevant representations.

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Learn Generative AI with PyTorch

A learned convolutional kernel whose weights slide across local input regions to produce feature responses.

How it is used
Uses learned kernels for spatial feature extraction in convolutional neural networks, especially image classification and generation.
How deep it goes
Explains sliding multiplication, shared weights, tensor shapes, layer arguments, parameter replacement, and numerical output, but not kernel training dynamics.
Examples
Demonstrates a 2 × 2 kernel scanning a 3 × 3 grayscale tensor and producing a 2 × 2 output.
What you can do after
Build it from scratch in PyTorch by defining Conv2d arguments, assigning kernel weights, and checking the resulting feature map.

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Sutskever's List

A convolutional kernel is a grid of learned weights applied across local regions of an input to produce spatial responses.

How it is used
Uses learned local patterns to extract increasingly complex visual features in AlexNet’s convolutional layers.
How deep it goes
Explains sliding dot-product comparisons, feature maps, and shared weights, but does not detail how the weights are learned.
Examples
Illustrates edge and cat-part responses, plus AlexNet’s progression from 11 × 11 to 3 × 3 filters.
What you can do after
Understand how shared filters produce spatial feature maps and support hierarchical visual patterns.

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Evolutionary Deep Learning: Genetic algorithms and neural networks

A convolutional filter is a learned array of weights that is slid across local input regions to produce feature responses.

How it is used
Uses learned local filters to extract image features within convolutional neural networks.
How deep it goes
Explains sliding, stride, learned weights, channel changes, and pooling, but avoids mathematical derivation.
Examples
Demonstrates Fashion-MNIST image patches, a visual filter operation, and a three-layer Keras Conv2D stack.
What you can do after
Build convolutional image layers with Keras Conv2D and inspect their output shapes and parameter counts.

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Related concepts

These guides are generated from the text of Manning books by Manning's knowledge graph and link to the sections they draw on. The full books are available on liveBook and at manning.com.