  Cutting-plane methods are well-studied localization(and optimization)
algorithms. We show that they provide a natural framework to perform
machinelearning ---and not just to solve optimization problems posed by
machinelearning--- in addition to their intended optimization use. In
particular, theyallow one to learn sparse classifiers and provide good
compression schemes.Moreover, we show that very little effort is required to
turn them intoeffective active learning methods. This last property provides a
generic way todesign a whole family of active learning algorithms from existing
passivemethods. We present numerical simulations testifying of the relevance
ofcutting-plane methods for passive and active learning tasks.
