Cython: Speed up Python and NumPy, Pythonize C, C++, and Fortran.
Smith, Kurt, Enthought, Inc.
Dr. Smith has been using Python in scientific computing for nearly ten years, and has developed tools to simplify the integration of performance-oriented languages with Python. He has contributed to the Cython project, implementing the initial version of the typed memoryviews and native cython arrays. He uses Cython extensively in his consulting work at Enthought. He received his B.S. in physics and applied mathematics from the University of Dallas, and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His doctoral research focused on the application of fluid plasma models to astrophysical systems, involving the composition of high-performance parallel simulations of plasma turbulence.
Dr. Smith has trained hundreds of scientists, engineers, and researchers in Python, NumPy, Cython, and parallel and high-performance computing as part of Enthought's five-day scientific Python training course. He has developed course material for high-performance and parallel computing with Python, and taught the `"Efficient Parallel Python for High-Performance Computing"<http://conference.scipy.org/scipy2012/tutorials.php#ti-77>`_ tutorial at the SciPy 2012 conference.
Advanced
Cython is a flexible and multi-faceted tool that brings down the barrier between Python and other languages. With cython, you can add type information to your Python code to yield dramatic performance improvements. Cython also allows you to wrap C, C++ and Fortran libraries to work with Python and NumPy. It is used extensively in research environments and in end-user applications.
This hands-on tutorial will cover Cython from the ground up, and will include the newest Cython features, including typed memoryviews.
Target audience:
Developers, researchers, scientists, and engineers who use Python and NumPy and who routinely hit bottlenecks and need improved performance.
C / C++ / Fortran users who would like their existing code to work with Python.
Expected level of knowledge:
Intermediate and / or regular user of Python and NumPy. Have used Python's decorators, exceptions, and classes. Knowledge of NumPy arrays, array views, fancy indexing, and NumPy dtypes. Have programmed in at least one of C, C++, or Fortran.
Some familiarity with the Python or NumPy C-API a plus. Familiarity with memoryviews and buffers a plus. Familiarity with OpenMP a plus. Array-based inter-language programming between Python and C, C++, or Fortran a plus.
Goals:
Overall goal: Cython familiarity for newcomers, Cython competence for those with some experience.
Understand what Cython is, what benefit it brings, when it is appropriate to use.
Know how to create and use a setup.py file that will create an extension module using cython.
Know how to use Cython from within the IPython notebook.
Know how and why to add cython type declarations to Python code.
Know how to create cdef and cpdef functions and cdef classes in Cython.
Know how to use Cython's typed memoryviews to work with buffer objects and C / C++ / Fortran arrays.
Know how to identify cython bottlenecks and speed them up.
Know how to wrap external C / C++ / Fortran 90 code with Cython.
Know how to handle inter-language error states with Cython.
Know how to apply Cython's OpenMP-based parallelism to straightforward nested loops for further performance.
Cython overview, basic usage / workflow (30 minutes)
Simple example (compiling the sinc function or similar); .pyx files; setup.py files; Python extension modules; pure Python mode; crossing the py2 - py3 divide with cython; Cython within IPython / IPython notebook.
Exercise: get add(a,b) function to compile with Cython using .pyx and setup.py and from within an IPython notebook.
Adding type information (30 minutes)
def, cdef, cpdef functions; cdef variables; cython generated source code; performance difference between Cython & Python; tradeoffs with using typed variables.
Exercise: cythonize sinc() function by adding type information, and vectorize it with numpy's vectorize decorator. Compare performance to pure-python sinc() kernel.
Wrapping external C libraries (30 minutes)
cdef extern from block, declaring external functions and typedefs; wrapping external functions; declaring external structures; dealing with "const";
Exercise: create get_date() function that wraps time() and localtime() from "time.h".
Alternative exercise: wrap simple 1D interpolation routine from GSL.
cdef classes / extension types (20 minutes)
Difference between "class Foo" and "cdef class Foo" in Cython; extension type data / attributes, how different from regular class attributes; __cinit__() and __dealloc__(); extension type inheritance limitations.
Demo of creating a particle cdef class in Cython.
Wrapping C++ classes (30 minutes)
Simple example -- wrap shape C++ class; cdef cppclass declarations; creating a cdef class wrapper around a C++ class; using a thisptr; memory management.
Exercise: wrap a simple C++ shape class with a cdef class extension type, using __cinit__, __dealloc__ and an internal thisptr.
typed memoryviews, fused types (30 minutes)
Python buffers and memoryviews, NumPy arrays; Cython's typed memoryviews, syntax and basic example; different declarations -- C / Fortran contiguous, direct, indirect, strided, generic, etc; interop with NumPy arrays and C / C++ / Fortran arrays; supported operations, performance; cython built-in arrays (Fused types will be covered if time permitting.)
Demo: Implement distance matrix (matrix of "distances" between pairs of points) calculation using typed memoryviews.
Capstone exercise: Compute Julia sets (50 minutes)
$ cython -a foo.pyx -- annotations and how to use them; pure python code for computing Julia set; pure python performance; first step: add type information to scalars; second step: def -> cdef; third step: type arrays as memoryviews; fourth step: add cython decorators; fifth step: use prange.
All necessary packages are available with an academic / full EPD installation, Anaconda, easy_install, or pip.
Users must have Cython >= 0.16 for the course.
The tutorial material (slides, exercises & demos) will be available for download and on USB drives.
Basic slide content is based on Enthought's Cython training slides. These slides will be reworked significantly for this tutorial. In particular, the NumPy buffer declarations will be taken out and replaced with the typed memoryview content listed in the outline. Other content (an IPython notebook with the start of the capstone project) is available as well:
http://www.enthought.com/~public_content/ksmith/scipy2013_cython