  Naturally occurring networks exhibit quantitative features revealing
underlying growth mechanisms. Numerous network mechanisms have recently been
proposed to reproduce specific properties such as degree distributions or
clustering coefficients. We present a method for inferring the mechanism most
accurately capturing a given network topology, exploiting discriminative tools
from machine learning. The Drosophila melanogaster protein network is
confidently and robustly (to noise and training data subsampling) classified as
a duplication-mutation-complementation network over preferential attachment,
small-world, and other duplication-mutation mechanisms. Systematic
classification, rather than statistical study of specific properties, provides
a discriminative approach to understand the design of complex networks.
