diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ca58f0eb3..25e61ca7b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -10,14 +10,13 @@ endif
 
 # specify tensor path
 BIN = xgboost
-OBJ = io.o
+OBJ = 
 SLIB = python/libxgboostwrapper.so
 .PHONY: clean all
 
 all: $(BIN) $(OBJ) $(SLIB)
 
-xgboost: src/xgboost_main.cpp io.o src/data.h src/tree/*.h src/tree/*.hpp src/gbm/*.h src/gbm/*.hpp src/utils/*.h src/learner/*.h src/learner/*.hpp 
-io.o: src/io/io.cpp src/data.h src/utils/*.h
+xgboost: src/xgboost_main.cpp src/io/io.cpp src/data.h src/tree/*.h src/tree/*.hpp src/gbm/*.h src/gbm/*.hpp src/utils/*.h src/learner/*.h src/learner/*.hpp 
 # now the wrapper takes in two files. io and wrapper part
 python/libxgboostwrapper.so: python/xgboost_wrapper.cpp src/io/io.cpp src/*.h src/*/*.hpp src/*/*.h
 
@@ -34,4 +33,4 @@ install:
 	cp -f -r $(BIN)  $(INSTALL_PATH)
 
 clean:
-	$(RM) $(OBJ) $(BIN) *~ */*~ */*/*~
+	$(RM) $(OBJ) $(BIN) $(SLIB) *~ */*~ */*/*~
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 106757471..61472aa44 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ Features
 
 xgboost-unity
 =======
-* experimental branch(not usable yet): refactor xgboost, cleaner code, more flexibility
-* This version of xgboost is not backward compatible with 0.2*, due to huge change in code structure
+* Experimental branch(not usable yet): refactor xgboost, cleaner code, more flexibility
+* This version of xgboost is not compatible with 0.2x, due to huge amount of changes in code structure
   - This means the model and buffer file of previous version can not be loaded in xgboost-unity
 
 Build
diff --git a/demo/kaggle-higgs/README.md b/demo/kaggle-higgs/README.md
index 28472a848..9e535ef1e 100644
--- a/demo/kaggle-higgs/README.md
+++ b/demo/kaggle-higgs/README.md
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ This script will achieve about 3.600 AMS score in public leadboard. To get start
 
 1. Compile the XGBoost python lib
 ```bash
-cd ../../python
+cd ../..
 make
 ```
 2. Put training.csv test.csv on folder './data' (you can create a symbolic link)
diff --git a/python/example/demo.py b/python/example/demo.py
index a099f56bf..231640d91 100755
--- a/python/example/demo.py
+++ b/python/example/demo.py
@@ -90,3 +90,22 @@ def evalerror(preds, dtrain):
 # training with customized objective, we can also do step by step training
 # simply look at xgboost.py's implementation of train
 bst = xgb.train(param, dtrain, num_round, evallist, logregobj, evalerror)
+
+
+###
+# advanced: start from a initial base prediction
+#
+print ('start running example to start from a initial prediction')
+# specify parameters via map, definition are same as c++ version
+param = {'bst:max_depth':2, 'bst:eta':1, 'silent':1, 'objective':'binary:logistic' }
+# train xgboost for 1 round
+bst = xgb.train( param, dtrain, 1, evallist )
+# Note: we need the margin value instead of transformed prediction in set_base_margin
+# do predict with output_margin=True, will always give you margin values before logistic transformation
+ptrain = bst.predict(dtrain, output_margin=True)
+ptest  = bst.predict(dtest, output_margin=True)
+dtrain.set_base_margin(ptrain)
+dtest.set_base_margin(ptest)
+
+print ('this is result of running from initial prediction')
+bst = xgb.train( param, dtrain, 1, evallist )
diff --git a/python/xgboost.py b/python/xgboost.py
index 2e5aeceba..badeebed9 100644
--- a/python/xgboost.py
+++ b/python/xgboost.py
@@ -18,8 +18,7 @@ xglib.XGDMatrixCreateFromFile.restype = ctypes.c_void_p
 xglib.XGDMatrixCreateFromCSR.restype = ctypes.c_void_p
 xglib.XGDMatrixCreateFromMat.restype = ctypes.c_void_p
 xglib.XGDMatrixSliceDMatrix.restype = ctypes.c_void_p
-xglib.XGDMatrixGetLabel.restype = ctypes.POINTER(ctypes.c_float)
-xglib.XGDMatrixGetWeight.restype = ctypes.POINTER(ctypes.c_float)
+xglib.XGDMatrixGetFloatInfo.restype = ctypes.POINTER(ctypes.c_float)
 xglib.XGDMatrixNumRow.restype = ctypes.c_ulong
 
 xglib.XGBoosterCreate.restype = ctypes.c_void_p
@@ -77,28 +76,46 @@ class DMatrix:
     # destructor
     def __del__(self):
         xglib.XGDMatrixFree(self.handle)
-    # load data from file 
+    def __get_float_info(self, field):
+        length = ctypes.c_ulong()
+        ret = xglib.XGDMatrixGetFloatInfo(self.handle, ctypes.c_char_p(field.encode('utf-8')),
+                                          ctypes.byref(length))
+        return ctypes2numpy(ret, length.value)
+    def __set_float_info(self, field, data):
+        xglib.XGDMatrixSetFloatInfo(self.handle,ctypes.c_char_p(field.encode('utf-8')), 
+                                    (ctypes.c_float*len(data))(*data), len(data))
+    # load data from file
     def save_binary(self, fname, silent=True):
         xglib.XGDMatrixSaveBinary(self.handle, ctypes.c_char_p(fname.encode('utf-8')), int(silent))
     # set label of dmatrix
     def set_label(self, label):
-        xglib.XGDMatrixSetLabel(self.handle, (ctypes.c_float*len(label))(*label), len(label))
+        self.__set_float_info('label', label)
+    # set weight of each instances
+    def set_weight(self, weight):
+        self.__set_float_info('weight', label)
+    # set initialized margin prediction
+    def set_base_margin(self, margin):
+        """
+        set base margin of booster to start from
+        this can be used to specify a prediction value of
+        existing model to be base_margin
+        However, remember margin is needed, instead of transformed prediction
+        e.g. for logistic regression: need to put in value before logistic transformation
+        see also example/demo.py
+        """
+        self.__set_float_info('base_margin', margin)
     # set group size of dmatrix, used for rank
     def set_group(self, group):
         xglib.XGDMatrixSetGroup(self.handle, (ctypes.c_uint*len(group))(*group), len(group))
-    # set weight of each instances
-    def set_weight(self, weight):
-        xglib.XGDMatrixSetWeight(self.handle, (ctypes.c_float*len(weight))(*weight), len(weight))
     # get label from dmatrix
     def get_label(self):
-        length = ctypes.c_ulong()
-        labels = xglib.XGDMatrixGetLabel(self.handle, ctypes.byref(length))
-        return ctypes2numpy(labels, length.value)
+        return self.__get_float_info('label')
     # get weight from dmatrix
     def get_weight(self):
-        length = ctypes.c_ulong()
-        weights = xglib.XGDMatrixGetWeight(self.handle, ctypes.byref(length))
-        return ctypes2numpy(weights, length.value)
+        return self.__get_float_info('weight')
+    # get base_margin from dmatrix
+    def get_base_margin(self):
+        return self.__get_float_info('base_margin')
     def num_row(self):
         return xglib.XGDMatrixNumRow(self.handle)
     # slice the DMatrix to return a new DMatrix that only contains rindex
@@ -161,9 +178,15 @@ class Booster:
         return xglib.XGBoosterEvalOneIter(self.handle, it, dmats, evnames, len(evals))        
     def eval(self, mat, name = 'eval', it = 0):
         return self.eval_set( [(mat,name)], it)
-    def predict(self, data):
+    def predict(self, data, output_margin=False):
+        """
+        predict with data
+            data: the dmatrix storing the input
+            output_margin: whether output raw margin value that is untransformed
+        """
         length = ctypes.c_ulong()
-        preds = xglib.XGBoosterPredict(self.handle, data.handle, ctypes.byref(length))
+        preds = xglib.XGBoosterPredict(self.handle, data.handle,
+                                       int(output_margin), ctypes.byref(length))
         return ctypes2numpy(preds, length.value)
     def save_model(self, fname):
         """ save model to file """
diff --git a/python/xgboost_wrapper.cpp b/python/xgboost_wrapper.cpp
index edda96c29..7f2365ba3 100644
--- a/python/xgboost_wrapper.cpp
+++ b/python/xgboost_wrapper.cpp
@@ -23,9 +23,9 @@ class Booster: public learner::BoostLearner<FMatrixS> {
     this->init_model = false;
     this->SetCacheData(mats);
   }
-  const float *Pred(const DataMatrix &dmat, size_t *len) {
+  const float *Pred(const DataMatrix &dmat, int output_margin, size_t *len) {
     this->CheckInitModel();
-    this->Predict(dmat, &this->preds_);
+    this->Predict(dmat, output_margin, &this->preds_);
     *len = this->preds_.size();
     return &this->preds_[0];
   }
@@ -163,15 +163,11 @@ extern "C"{
   void XGDMatrixSaveBinary(void *handle, const char *fname, int silent) {
     SaveDataMatrix(*static_cast<DataMatrix*>(handle), fname, silent);
   }
-  void XGDMatrixSetLabel(void *handle, const float *label, size_t len) {
-    DataMatrix *pmat = static_cast<DataMatrix*>(handle);
-    pmat->info.labels.resize(len);
-    memcpy(&(pmat->info).labels[0], label, sizeof(float) * len);
-  }
-  void XGDMatrixSetWeight(void *handle, const float *weight, size_t len) {
-    DataMatrix *pmat = static_cast<DataMatrix*>(handle);
-    pmat->info.weights.resize(len);
-    memcpy(&(pmat->info).weights[0], weight, sizeof(float) * len);
+  void XGDMatrixSetFloatInfo(void *handle, const char *field, const float *info, size_t len) {
+    std::vector<float> &vec = 
+        static_cast<DataMatrix*>(handle)->info.GetInfo(field);
+    vec.resize(len);
+    memcpy(&vec[0], info, sizeof(float) * len);
   }
   void XGDMatrixSetGroup(void *handle, const unsigned *group, size_t len) {
     DataMatrix *pmat = static_cast<DataMatrix*>(handle);
@@ -181,15 +177,11 @@ extern "C"{
       pmat->info.group_ptr[i+1] = pmat->info.group_ptr[i]+group[i];
     }
   }
-  const float* XGDMatrixGetLabel(const void *handle, size_t* len) {
-    const DataMatrix *pmat = static_cast<const DataMatrix*>(handle);
-    *len = pmat->info.labels.size();
-    return &(pmat->info.labels[0]);
-  }
-  const float* XGDMatrixGetWeight(const void *handle, size_t* len) {
-    const DataMatrix *pmat = static_cast<const DataMatrix*>(handle);
-    *len = pmat->info.weights.size();
-    return &(pmat->info.weights[0]);
+  const float* XGDMatrixGetFloatInfo(const void *handle, const char *field, size_t* len) {
+    const std::vector<float> &vec =
+        static_cast<const DataMatrix*>(handle)->info.GetInfo(field);
+    *len = vec.size();
+    return &vec[0];
   }
   size_t XGDMatrixNumRow(const void *handle) {
     return static_cast<const DataMatrix*>(handle)->info.num_row;
@@ -238,8 +230,8 @@ extern "C"{
     bst->eval_str = bst->EvalOneIter(iter, mats, names);
     return bst->eval_str.c_str();
   }
-  const float *XGBoosterPredict(void *handle, void *dmat, size_t *len) {
-    return static_cast<Booster*>(handle)->Pred(*static_cast<DataMatrix*>(dmat), len);
+  const float *XGBoosterPredict(void *handle, void *dmat, int output_margin, size_t *len) {
+    return static_cast<Booster*>(handle)->Pred(*static_cast<DataMatrix*>(dmat), output_margin, len);
   }
   void XGBoosterLoadModel(void *handle, const char *fname) {
     static_cast<Booster*>(handle)->LoadModel(fname);
diff --git a/python/xgboost_wrapper.h b/python/xgboost_wrapper.h
index 16b8fecd7..1b6805c61 100644
--- a/python/xgboost_wrapper.h
+++ b/python/xgboost_wrapper.h
@@ -64,19 +64,13 @@ extern "C" {
    */
   void XGDMatrixSaveBinary(void *handle, const char *fname, int silent);
   /*!
-   * \brief set label of the training matrix
+   * \brief set float vector to a content in info
    * \param handle a instance of data matrix
-   * \param label pointer to label
+   * \param field field name, can be label, weight
+   * \param array pointer to float vector
    * \param len length of array
    */
-  void XGDMatrixSetLabel(void *handle, const float *label, size_t len);
-  /*!
-   * \brief set weight of each instance
-   * \param handle a instance of data matrix
-   * \param weight data pointer to weights
-   * \param len length of array
-   */
-  void XGDMatrixSetWeight(void *handle, const float *weight, size_t len);
+  void XGDMatrixSetFloatInfo(void *handle, const char *field, const float *array, size_t len);
   /*!
    * \brief set label of the training matrix
    * \param handle a instance of data matrix
@@ -85,19 +79,13 @@ extern "C" {
    */
   void XGDMatrixSetGroup(void *handle, const unsigned *group, size_t len);
   /*!
-   * \brief get label set from matrix
+   * \brief get float info vector from matrix
    * \param handle a instance of data matrix
    * \param len used to set result length
+   * \param field field name
    * \return pointer to the label
    */
-  const float* XGDMatrixGetLabel(const void *handle, size_t* out_len);
-  /*!
-   * \brief get weight set from matrix
-   * \param handle a instance of data matrix
-   * \param len used to set result length
-   * \return pointer to the weight
-   */
-  const float* XGDMatrixGetWeight(const void *handle, size_t* out_len);
+  const float* XGDMatrixGetFloatInfo(const void *handle, const char *field, size_t* out_len);
   /*!
    * \brief return number of rows
    */
@@ -154,9 +142,10 @@ extern "C" {
    * \brief make prediction based on dmat
    * \param handle handle
    * \param dmat data matrix
+   * \param output_margin whether only output raw margin value
    * \param len used to store length of returning result
    */
-  const float *XGBoosterPredict(void *handle, void *dmat, size_t *len);
+  const float *XGBoosterPredict(void *handle, void *dmat, int output_margin, size_t *len);
   /*!
    * \brief load model from existing file
    * \param handle handle
diff --git a/src/gbm/gbtree-inl.hpp b/src/gbm/gbtree-inl.hpp
index b0bd0f99a..216240b74 100644
--- a/src/gbm/gbtree-inl.hpp
+++ b/src/gbm/gbtree-inl.hpp
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ class GBTree : public IGradBooster<FMatrix> {
       pred_counter[bid] = static_cast<unsigned>(trees.size());
       pred_buffer[bid] = psum;
     }
-    return psum + mparam.base_score;
+    return psum;
   }
   // initialize thread local space for prediction
   inline void InitThreadTemp(int nthread) {
@@ -296,8 +296,6 @@ class GBTree : public IGradBooster<FMatrix> {
   };
   /*! \brief model parameters */
   struct ModelParam {
-    /*! \brief base prediction score of everything */
-    float base_score;
     /*! \brief number of trees */
     int num_trees;
     /*! \brief number of root: default 0, means single tree */
@@ -316,7 +314,6 @@ class GBTree : public IGradBooster<FMatrix> {
     int reserved[32];
     /*! \brief constructor */
     ModelParam(void) {
-      base_score = 0.0f;
       num_trees = 0;
       num_roots = num_feature = 0;
       num_pbuffer = 0;
@@ -329,7 +326,6 @@ class GBTree : public IGradBooster<FMatrix> {
      * \param val  value of the parameter
      */
     inline void SetParam(const char *name, const char *val) {
-      if (!strcmp("base_score", name)) base_score = static_cast<float>(atof(val));
       if (!strcmp("num_pbuffer", name)) num_pbuffer = atol(val);
       if (!strcmp("num_output_group", name)) num_output_group = atol(val);
       if (!strcmp("bst:num_roots", name)) num_roots = atoi(val);
diff --git a/src/io/simple_dmatrix-inl.hpp b/src/io/simple_dmatrix-inl.hpp
index bc0e3c2bd..c0b98b789 100644
--- a/src/io/simple_dmatrix-inl.hpp
+++ b/src/io/simple_dmatrix-inl.hpp
@@ -110,10 +110,13 @@ class DMatrixSimple : public DataMatrix {
                    "DMatrix: group data does not match the number of rows in features");
     }
     std::string wname = name + ".weight";
-    if (info.TryLoadWeight(wname.c_str(), silent)) {
+    if (info.TryLoadFloatInfo("weight", wname.c_str(), silent)) {
       utils::Check(info.weights.size() == info.num_row,
                    "DMatrix: weight data does not match the number of rows in features");
     }
+    std::string mname = name + ".base_margin";
+    if (info.TryLoadFloatInfo("base_margin", mname.c_str(), silent)) {      
+    }
   }
   /*!
    * \brief load from binary file
diff --git a/src/learner/dmatrix.h b/src/learner/dmatrix.h
index 144b1a44e..f7dbcb639 100644
--- a/src/learner/dmatrix.h
+++ b/src/learner/dmatrix.h
@@ -33,6 +33,15 @@ struct MetaInfo {
    *  can be used for multi task setting
    */
   std::vector<unsigned> root_index;
+  /*! 
+   * \brief initialized margins,
+   * if specified, xgboost will start from this init margin
+   * can be used to specify initial prediction to boost from
+   */
+  std::vector<float> base_margin;
+  /*! \brief version flag, used to check version of this info */
+  static const int kVersion = 0;
+  // constructor
   MetaInfo(void) : num_row(0), num_col(0) {}
   /*! \brief clear all the information */
   inline void Clear(void) {
@@ -40,6 +49,7 @@ struct MetaInfo {
     group_ptr.clear();
     weights.clear();
     root_index.clear();
+    base_margin.clear();
     num_row = num_col = 0;
   }
   /*! \brief get weight of each instances */
@@ -59,20 +69,26 @@ struct MetaInfo {
     }
   }
   inline void SaveBinary(utils::IStream &fo) const {
+    int version = kVersion;
+    fo.Write(&version, sizeof(version));
     fo.Write(&num_row, sizeof(num_row));
     fo.Write(&num_col, sizeof(num_col));
     fo.Write(labels);
     fo.Write(group_ptr);
     fo.Write(weights);
     fo.Write(root_index);
+    fo.Write(base_margin);
   }
   inline void LoadBinary(utils::IStream &fi) {
+    int version;
+    utils::Check(fi.Read(&version, sizeof(version)), "MetaInfo: invalid format");
     utils::Check(fi.Read(&num_row, sizeof(num_row)), "MetaInfo: invalid format");
     utils::Check(fi.Read(&num_col, sizeof(num_col)), "MetaInfo: invalid format");
     utils::Check(fi.Read(&labels), "MetaInfo: invalid format");
     utils::Check(fi.Read(&group_ptr), "MetaInfo: invalid format");
     utils::Check(fi.Read(&weights), "MetaInfo: invalid format");
     utils::Check(fi.Read(&root_index), "MetaInfo: invalid format");
+    utils::Check(fi.Read(&base_margin), "MetaInfo: invalid format");
   }
   // try to load group information from file, if exists
   inline bool TryLoadGroup(const char* fname, bool silent = false) {
@@ -89,8 +105,19 @@ struct MetaInfo {
     fclose(fi);
     return true;
   }
+  inline std::vector<float>& GetInfo(const char *field) {
+    if (!strcmp(field, "label")) return labels;
+    if (!strcmp(field, "weight")) return weights;
+    if (!strcmp(field, "base_margin")) return base_margin;
+    utils::Error("unknown field %s", field);
+    return labels;
+  }
+  inline const std::vector<float>& GetInfo(const char *field) const {
+    return ((MetaInfo*)this)->GetInfo(field);
+  }
   // try to load weight information from file, if exists
-  inline bool TryLoadWeight(const char* fname, bool silent = false) {
+  inline bool TryLoadFloatInfo(const char *field, const char* fname, bool silent = false) {
+    std::vector<float> &weights = this->GetInfo(field);       
     FILE *fi = fopen64(fname, "r");
     if (fi == NULL) return false;
     float wt;
@@ -98,7 +125,7 @@ struct MetaInfo {
       weights.push_back(wt);
     }
     if (!silent) {
-      printf("loading weight from %s\n", fname);
+      printf("loading %s from %s\n", field, fname);
     }
     fclose(fi);
     return true;
diff --git a/src/learner/learner-inl.hpp b/src/learner/learner-inl.hpp
index 09167d8bf..4d227f488 100644
--- a/src/learner/learner-inl.hpp
+++ b/src/learner/learner-inl.hpp
@@ -97,9 +97,6 @@ class BoostLearner {
     this->InitObjGBM();
     // reset the base score
     mparam.base_score = obj_->ProbToMargin(mparam.base_score);
-    char tmp[32];
-    snprintf(tmp, sizeof(tmp), "%g", mparam.base_score);
-    this->SetParam("base_score", tmp);
     // initialize GBM model
     gbm_->InitModel();
   }
@@ -199,12 +196,16 @@ class BoostLearner {
   /*!
    * \brief get prediction
    * \param data input data
+   * \param output_margin whether to only predict margin value instead of transformed prediction
    * \param out_preds output vector that stores the prediction
    */
   inline void Predict(const DMatrix<FMatrix> &data,
+                      bool output_margin,
                       std::vector<float> *out_preds) const {
     this->PredictRaw(data, out_preds);
-    obj_->PredTransform(out_preds);
+    if (!output_margin) {
+      obj_->PredTransform(out_preds);
+    }
   }
   /*! \brief dump model out */
   inline std::vector<std::string> DumpModel(const utils::FeatMap& fmap, int option) {
@@ -236,6 +237,22 @@ class BoostLearner {
                          std::vector<float> *out_preds) const {
     gbm_->Predict(data.fmat, this->FindBufferOffset(data),
                   data.info.root_index, out_preds);
+    // add base margin
+    std::vector<float> &preds = *out_preds;
+    const unsigned ndata = static_cast<unsigned>(preds.size());
+    if (data.info.base_margin.size() != 0) {
+      utils::Check(preds.size() == data.info.base_margin.size(),
+                   "base_margin.size does not match with prediction size");
+      #pragma omp parallel for schedule(static)
+      for (unsigned j = 0; j < ndata; ++j) {
+        preds[j] += data.info.base_margin[j];
+      }
+    } else {
+      #pragma omp parallel for schedule(static)
+      for (unsigned j = 0; j < ndata; ++j) {
+        preds[j] += mparam.base_score;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   /*! \brief training parameter for regression */
diff --git a/src/xgboost_main.cpp b/src/xgboost_main.cpp
index f3fc9201d..c807df15a 100644
--- a/src/xgboost_main.cpp
+++ b/src/xgboost_main.cpp
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ class BoostLearnTask{
     if (!strcmp("silent", name)) silent = atoi(val);
     if (!strcmp("use_buffer", name)) use_buffer = atoi(val);
     if (!strcmp("num_round", name)) num_round = atoi(val);
+    if (!strcmp("pred_margin", name)) pred_margin = atoi(val);
     if (!strcmp("save_period", name)) save_period = atoi(val);
     if (!strcmp("eval_train", name)) eval_train = atoi(val);
     if (!strcmp("task", name)) task = val;
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ class BoostLearnTask{
     num_round = 10;
     save_period = 0;
     eval_train = 0;
+    pred_margin = 0;
     dump_model_stats = 0;
     task = "train";
     model_in = "NULL";
@@ -184,7 +186,7 @@ class BoostLearnTask{
   inline void TaskPred(void) {
     std::vector<float> preds;
     if (!silent) printf("start prediction...\n");
-    learner.Predict(*data, &preds);
+    learner.Predict(*data, pred_margin != 0, &preds);
     if (!silent) printf("writing prediction to %s\n", name_pred.c_str());
     FILE *fo = utils::FopenCheck(name_pred.c_str(), "w");
     for (size_t i = 0; i < preds.size(); i++) {
@@ -193,37 +195,39 @@ class BoostLearnTask{
     fclose(fo);
   }
  private:
-  /* \brief whether silent */
+  /*! \brief whether silent */
   int silent;
-  /* \brief whether use auto binary buffer */
+  /*! \brief whether use auto binary buffer */
   int use_buffer;
-  /* \brief whether evaluate training statistics */            
+  /*! \brief whether evaluate training statistics */            
   int eval_train;
-  /* \brief number of boosting iterations */
+  /*! \brief number of boosting iterations */
   int num_round;
-  /* \brief the period to save the model, 0 means only save the final round model */
+  /*! \brief the period to save the model, 0 means only save the final round model */
   int save_period;
-  /* \brief the path of training/test data set */
+  /*! \brief the path of training/test data set */
   std::string train_path, test_path;
-  /* \brief the path of test model file, or file to restart training */
+  /*! \brief the path of test model file, or file to restart training */
   std::string model_in;
-  /* \brief the path of final model file, to be saved */
+  /*! \brief the path of final model file, to be saved */
   std::string model_out;
-  /* \brief the path of directory containing the saved models */
+  /*! \brief the path of directory containing the saved models */
   std::string model_dir_path;
-  /* \brief task to perform */
+  /*! \brief task to perform */
   std::string task;
-  /* \brief name of predict file */
+  /*! \brief name of predict file */
   std::string name_pred;
-  /* \brief whether dump statistics along with model */
+  /*!\brief whether to directly output margin value */
+  int pred_margin;
+  /*! \brief whether dump statistics along with model */
   int dump_model_stats;
-  /* \brief name of feature map */
+  /*! \brief name of feature map */
   std::string name_fmap;
-  /* \brief name of dump file */
+  /*! \brief name of dump file */
   std::string name_dump;
-  /* \brief the paths of validation data sets */
+  /*! \brief the paths of validation data sets */
   std::vector<std::string> eval_data_paths;
-  /* \brief the names of the evaluation data used in output log */
+  /*! \brief the names of the evaluation data used in output log */
   std::vector<std::string> eval_data_names;
  private:
   io::DataMatrix* data;