# -*- coding: utf-8 -*- """ Serialization of un-picklable objects ===================================== This example highlights the options for tempering with joblib serialization process. """ # Code source: Thomas Moreau # License: BSD 3 clause import sys import time import traceback from joblib.externals.loky import set_loky_pickler from joblib import parallel_config from joblib import Parallel, delayed from joblib import wrap_non_picklable_objects ############################################################################### # First, define functions which cannot be pickled with the standard ``pickle`` # protocol. They cannot be serialized with ``pickle`` because they are defined # in the ``__main__`` module. They can however be serialized with # ``cloudpickle``. With the default behavior, ``loky`` is to use # ``cloudpickle`` to serialize the objects that are sent to the workers. # def func_async(i, *args): return 2 * i print(Parallel(n_jobs=2)(delayed(func_async)(21) for _ in range(1))[0]) ############################################################################### # For most use-cases, using ``cloudpickle`` is efficient enough. However, this # solution can be very slow to serialize large python objects, such as dict or # list, compared to the standard ``pickle`` serialization. # def func_async(i, *args): return 2 * i # We have to pass an extra argument with a large list (or another large python # object). large_list = list(range(1000000)) t_start = time.time() Parallel(n_jobs=2)(delayed(func_async)(21, large_list) for _ in range(1)) print("With loky backend and cloudpickle serialization: {:.3f}s" .format(time.time() - t_start)) ############################################################################### # If you are on a UNIX system, it is possible to fallback to the old # ``multiprocessing`` backend, which can pickle interactively defined functions # with the default pickle module, which is faster for such large objects. # import multiprocessing as mp if mp.get_start_method() != "spawn": def func_async(i, *args): return 2 * i with parallel_config('multiprocessing'): t_start = time.time() Parallel(n_jobs=2)( delayed(func_async)(21, large_list) for _ in range(1)) print("With multiprocessing backend and pickle serialization: {:.3f}s" .format(time.time() - t_start)) ############################################################################### # However, using ``fork`` to start new processes can cause violation of the # POSIX specification and can have bad interaction with compiled extensions # that use ``openmp``. Also, it is not possible to start processes with # ``fork`` on windows where only ``spawn`` is available. The ``loky`` backend # has been developed to mitigate these issues. # # To have fast pickling with ``loky``, it is possible to rely on ``pickle`` to # serialize all communications between the main process and the workers with # the ``loky`` backend. This can be done by setting the environment variable # ``LOKY_PICKLER=pickle`` before the script is launched. Here we use an # internal programmatic switch ``loky.set_loky_pickler`` for demonstration # purposes but it has the same effect as setting ``LOKY_PICKLER``. Note that # this switch should not be used as it has some side effects with the workers. # # Now set the `loky_pickler` to use the pickle serialization from stdlib. Here, # we do not pass the desired function ``func_async`` as it is not picklable # but it is replaced by ``id`` for demonstration purposes. set_loky_pickler('pickle') t_start = time.time() Parallel(n_jobs=2)(delayed(id)(large_list) for _ in range(1)) print("With pickle serialization: {:.3f}s".format(time.time() - t_start)) ############################################################################### # However, the function and objects defined in ``__main__`` are not # serializable anymore using ``pickle`` and it is not possible to call # ``func_async`` using this pickler. # def func_async(i, *args): return 2 * i try: Parallel(n_jobs=2)(delayed(func_async)(21, large_list) for _ in range(1)) except Exception: traceback.print_exc(file=sys.stdout) ############################################################################### # To have both fast pickling, safe process creation and serialization of # interactive functions, ``joblib`` provides a wrapper function # :func:`~joblib.wrap_non_picklable_objects` to wrap the non-picklable function # and indicate to the serialization process that this specific function should # be serialized using ``cloudpickle``. This changes the serialization behavior # only for this function and keeps using ``pickle`` for all other objects. The # drawback of this solution is that it modifies the object. This should not # cause many issues with functions but can have side effects with object # instances. # @delayed @wrap_non_picklable_objects def func_async_wrapped(i, *args): return 2 * i t_start = time.time() Parallel(n_jobs=2)(func_async_wrapped(21, large_list) for _ in range(1)) print("With pickle from stdlib and wrapper: {:.3f}s" .format(time.time() - t_start)) ############################################################################### # The same wrapper can also be used for non-picklable classes. Note that the # side effects of ``wrap_non_picklable_objects`` on objects can break magic # methods such as ``__add__`` and can mess up the ``isinstance`` and # ``issubclass`` functions. Some improvements will be considered if use-cases # are reported. # # Reset the loky_pickler to avoid border effects with other examples in # sphinx-gallery. set_loky_pickler()