[源码解析]PyTorch如何实现前向传播(2) --- 基础类(下)

2021-10-21 14:52:34 浏览数 (1)

[源码解析]PyTorch如何实现前向传播(2) --- 基础类(下)

目录

  • [源码解析]PyTorch如何实现前向传播(2) --- 基础类(下)
    • 0x00 摘要
    • 0x01 前文回顾
    • 0x02 TensorImpl
      • 2.1 转嫁
      • 2.2 定义
    • 0x03 自动求导相关类
      • 3.1 AutogradMeta
      • 3.2 DifferentiableViewMeta
      • 3.3 AutogradContext
      • 3.4 Auto Function
    • 0x04 Node
      • 4.1 定义
      • 4.2 重要成员变量
        • 4.2.1 input_metadata_
        • 4.2.2 next_edges_
        • 4.2.3 sequence_nr_
        • 4.2.4 topological_nr_
        • 4.2.5 operator()
    • 0x05 Edge
    • 0x06 逻辑图
    • 0xFF 参考

0x00 摘要

本系列将通过大概十篇左右文章来分析 PyTorch 的自动微分功能如何实现。本文是前向传播的第二篇,介绍自动微分(梯度计算)所涉及的部分 PyTorch 基础类。因为字数太多(1万两千字),所以拆分成上下两篇。

系列前几篇连接如下:

深度学习利器之自动微分(1)

深度学习利器之自动微分(2)

深度学习利器之自动微分(3) --- 示例解读

[源码解析]PyTorch如何实现前向传播(1) --- 基础类(上)

0x01 前文回顾

前文介绍了部分基础类,比如 Variable, Function, Tensor,本文我们继续分析其他基础类。为了行文完整,我们从前文摘取了总体逻辑关系如下,SubBackward0,PowBackward0 和 都是Node 的派生类,在本文我们会细化这个图。

代码语言:javascript复制
 ---------------------                ---------------------- 
| SubBackward0        |              | PowBackward0         |
|                     |      Edge    |                      |  Edge
|   next_functions   ----- --------> |     next_functions  ----------> ...
|                     |   |          |                      |
 ---------------------    |           ---------------------- 
                          |
                          |
                          |           ---------------------- 
                          |  Edge    | MulBackward0         |
                           --------> |                      |  Edge
                                     |     next_functions  ----------> ...
                                     |                      |
                                      ---------------------- 

0x02 TensorImpl

2.1 转嫁

PyTorch 之中大量使用了bridge设计模式,at::Tensor就是利用bridge模式把具体实现转交给TensorImpl完成。

代码语言:javascript复制
class TORCH_API Tensor {
 private:
  struct unsafe_borrow_t { explicit unsafe_borrow_t() = default; };

  explicit Tensor(unsafe_borrow_t, const Tensor& rhs)
      : impl_(c10::intrusive_ptr<at::TensorImpl, UndefinedTensorImpl>::reclaim(rhs.impl_.get())) {}
    
  friend MaybeOwnedTraits<Tensor>;
  protected:
  friend class ::caffe2::Tensor;

  void enforce_invariants();
  c10::intrusive_ptr<TensorImpl, UndefinedTensorImpl> impl_; // 转嫁出去
};

具体如下:

代码语言:javascript复制
 ------------------------------------------------            --------------------------- 
|Tensor                                          |          |TensorImpl                 |
|                                                |          |                           |
|                                                |  bridge  |                           |
|      <TensorImpl, UndefinedTensorImpl> impl_ -----------> |       autograd_meta_      |
|                                                |          |                           |
|                                                |          |       named_tensor_meta_  |
 ------------------------------------------------           |                           |
                                                            |       pyobj_              |
                                                            |                           |
                                                            |       sizes_and_strides_  |
                                                            |                           |
                                                            |       storage_offset_     |
                                                            |                           |
                                                            |       data_type_          |
                                                            |                           |
                                                            |       device_opt_         |
                                                            |                           |
                                                            |                           |
                                                             --------------------------- 

2.2 定义

TensorImpl 定义如下,因为本文是自动微分和前向传播相关,因此我们专注这部分功能的相关变量,就是autograd_meta_ 。除了 autograd_meta_ 之外,主要是一些描述Tensor大小的元数据,包含元素的类型(dtype),Tensor所依赖的设备,Strides(步幅)等等。

代码语言:javascript复制
struct C10_API TensorImpl : public c10::intrusive_ptr_target {
  Storage storage_;

 private:
  // This pointer points to an AutogradMeta struct that stores autograd-specific
  // fields (such as grad_ / grad_fn_ / grad_accumulator_). This pointer always
  // has unique ownership (meaning only one TensorImpl can own it at a time).
  //
  // autograd_meta_ can be nullptr, as an optimization.  When this occurs, it is
  // equivalent to having an autograd_meta_ pointing to a default constructed
  // AutogradMeta; intuitively, tensors which don't require grad will have this
  // field set to null.
  //
  // This means accessors on autograd_meta_ have to be careful to test if they
  // got a nullptr, and handle default behavior appropriately in that case.
  //
  // Note that we don't enforce the invariant that if the AutogradMeta is
  // default constructed, it is nullptr (to do this, we'd have to continuously
  // check if an AutogradMeta became, by mutation, equal to the default
  // constructed form.  (This might be useful, but it seems rare enough that
  // a requires_grad=True variable will turn back into the requires_grad=False
  // version.)  So there are three representable states:
  //
  //    1. autograd_meta_ == nullptr
  //    2. autograd_meta_ is default constructed (semantically, same as (1))
  //    3. autograd_meta_ has nontrivial information content
  //
  std::unique_ptr<c10::AutogradMetaInterface> autograd_meta_ = nullptr; // 主要关注这里

 protected:
  std::unique_ptr<c10::NamedTensorMetaInterface> named_tensor_meta_ = nullptr;
  c10::VariableVersion version_counter_;
  PyObject* pyobj_ = nullptr;
  c10::impl::SizesAndStrides sizes_and_strides_;
  int64_t storage_offset_ = 0;
  int64_t numel_ = 1;
  caffe2::TypeMeta data_type_;
  c10::optional<c10::Device> device_opt_;
  bool is_contiguous_ : 1;
  /* HasContiguityPolicy */ uint8_t has_contiguity_ : 2;
  bool storage_access_should_throw_ = false;
  bool is_channels_last_ : 1;
  bool is_channels_last_contiguous_ : 1;
  bool is_channels_last_3d_ : 1;
  bool is_channels_last_3d_contiguous_ : 1;
  bool is_non_overlapping_and_dense_ : 1;
  bool is_wrapped_number_ : 1;
  bool allow_tensor_metadata_change_ : 1;
  bool reserved_ : 1;
  DispatchKeySet key_set_;
};

对于自动微分,std::unique_ptr<c10::AutogradMetaInterface> autograd_meta_ = nullptr; 是关键。

此成员变量用来存储自动微分相关的特殊变量,比如grad_ / grad_fn_ / grad_accumulator_,每一个TensorImpl在同一时刻只有唯一一个AutogradMeta。

autograd_meta_ 是区分一个 Variable 是普通张量还是带 autograd 功能张量的唯一标识:

  • 对于不需要梯度的张量,autograd_meta_ 这个变量为null。
  • 但是出于优化的目的,即使需要梯度,autograd_meta_ 也可以是null,这种情况等同于被赋值成一个缺省的AutogradMeta。所以在使用时候需要仔细校验是否为null。
  • 在需要梯度情况下,一般来说,autograd_meta_会被初始化为 AutogradMeta 或者DifferentiableViewMeta。

AutogradMetaInterface 定义如下,这是一个抽象接口,需要派生类来实现具体功能。

代码语言:javascript复制
struct C10_API AutogradMetaInterface {
  virtual void set_requires_grad(
      bool requires_grad,
      at::TensorImpl* self_impl) = 0;
  virtual bool requires_grad() const = 0;
  virtual at::Tensor& mutable_grad() = 0;
  virtual const at::Tensor& grad() const = 0;
  virtual const at::Tensor& fw_grad(uint64_t level, const at::Tensor& self)
      const = 0;
  virtual void set_fw_grad(
      const at::Tensor& new_grad,
      const at::Tensor& self,
      uint64_t level,
      bool is_inplace_op) = 0;
  virtual ~AutogradMetaInterface();
};

0x03 自动求导相关类

以下类是与自动求导相关。

3.1 AutogradMeta

AutogradMeta 继承了 AutogradMetaInterface,存储于自动微分相关的东西,比如节点的梯度值和梯度计算函数,其具体定义如下:

代码语言:javascript复制
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//                            AutogradMeta
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

/// Each `Variable` has one unique `AutogradMeta` struct, which stores autograd
/// metadata fields that are necessary for tracking the Variable's autograd history.
/// As an optimization, a Variable may store a nullptr, in lieu of a default
/// constructed AutogradMeta.

/// 1. A `grad_fn`, if the variable is in the interior of the graph. This is the
///    gradient of the function that produced the variable.
/// 2. A `grad_accumulator`, if the variable is a leaf, which accumulates a
///    scalar gradient value into its `grad` variable.

struct TORCH_API AutogradMeta : public c10::AutogradMetaInterface {
  std::string name_;

  Variable grad_; // 保存当前Variable的梯度,本身也是一个Variable
  std::shared_ptr<Node> grad_fn_; // 非叶子节点才有意义,中间节点负责梯度计算。Pytorch就是判断grad_fn_是否为空来判断一个Variable是否是叶子节点,可以通过grad_fn()方法来访问。
  std::weak_ptr<Node> grad_accumulator_; // Node实例,只有叶子节点才有,叶子节点负责对梯度进行累加,grad_accumulator_就是梯度累加处理函数,梯度就被保存在grad_变量之中

  // This field is used to store all the forward AD gradients
  // associated with this AutogradMeta (and the Tensor it corresponds to)
  // There is a semantic 1:1 correspondence between AutogradMeta and
  // ForwardGrad but:
  //   - This field is lazily populated.
  //   - This field is a shared_ptr but it must never be
  //     shared by multiple Tensors. See Note [ Using ForwardGrad ]
  // Any transition from not_initialized to initialized
  // must be protected by mutex_
  std::shared_ptr<ForwardGrad> fw_grad_; // forward AD gradients

  std::vector<std::shared_ptr<FunctionPreHook>> hooks_;
  std::shared_ptr<hooks_list> cpp_hooks_list_;

  // Only meaningful on leaf variables (must be false otherwise)
  bool requires_grad_; // 此Variable是否需要grad

  // Only meaningful on non-leaf variables (must be false otherwise)
  bool retains_grad_; // 只有非叶子节点才有意义,是否需要保持图

  bool is_view_; // 此Variable是否是一个View(没有实际存储,这是基于base的Variable)

  // The "output number" of this variable; e.g., if this variable
  // was the second output of a function, then output_nr == 1.
  // We use this to make sure we can setup the backwards trace
  // correctly when this variable is passed to another function.
  uint32_t output_nr_; // Variable是某一个函数的输出数据,output_nr_ 就记录了它是第几个输出,比如 = 0,就表示是函数的第1个输出

  // Mutex to ensure that concurrent read operations that modify internal
  // state are still thread-safe. Used by grad_fn(), grad_accumulator(),
  // fw_grad() and set_fw_grad()
  // This is mutable because we need to be able to acquire this from const
  // version of this class for the functions above
  mutable std::mutex mutex_;
};

AutogradMeta 的主要成员变量如下:

  • grad_ :存储当前Variable实例的梯度,本身也是一个Variable。
  • grad_fn :是个Node实例,非叶子节点才有。通过 grad_fn() 方法来访问,实际上,PyTorch中就是通过 grad_fn是否为空 来判断一个Variable是否是leaf variable。
  • grad_accumulator_ :也是Node的实例,只有叶子节点才有
    • 通过Variable的grad_accumulator()来访问。
    • 叶子节点负责对梯度进行累加,grad_accumulator_ 就是梯度累加处理函数。
    • 其对应梯度就被保存在 grad_ 变量之中。
  • requires_grad_ :表明此Variable实例是否需要grad。
  • retains_grad_ : 只有非叶子节点才有意义,意义为是否需要保持图。
  • is_view_ :是个flag,表明此Variable实例是否是个view(没有实际存储,基于base的variable)。
  • version_counter_ :version number。
  • output_nr_:是个数字。output_nr_表明是 Node 的第几个输出,比如为 0 就 表明这个Variable是Node 的第 1 个输出。
  • base_ :是view的base variable。

具体如下:

代码语言:javascript复制
 ----------------------------------------------            ------------------------- 
|Tensor                                        |          |TensorImpl               |
|                                              |          |                         |
|                                              |  bridge  |                         |
|   <TensorImpl, UndefinedTensorImpl> impl_  -----------> |    autograd_meta_  --------- 
|                                              |          |                         |   |
|                                              |          |    named_tensor_meta_   |   |
 ----------------------------------------------           |                         |   |
                                                          |    pyobj_               |   |
                                                          |                         |   |
                                                          |    sizes_and_strides_   |   |
                                                          |                         |   |
                                                          |    storage_offset_      |   |
                                                          |                         |   |
                                                          |    data_type_           |   |
                                                          |                         |   |
                                                          |    device_opt_          |   |
                                                          |                         |   |
                                                          |                         |   |
                                                           -------------------------    |
                                                                                        |
                                                           -------------------------    |
                                                          | AutogradMeta            |   |
                                                          |                          <-- 
                                                          |                         |
                                                          |      grad_fn_           |
                                                          |                         |
                                                          |      grad_accumulator_  |
                                                          |                         |
                                                          |      hooks_             |
                                                          |                         |
                                                          |      retains_grad_      |
                                                          |                         |
                                                          |      output_nr_         |
                                                          |                         |
                                                          |      fw_grad_           |
                                                          |                         |
                                                           ------------------------- 

3.2 DifferentiableViewMeta

对于输入变量,许多操作返回与输入变量共享存储的新变量,返回的变量被称为在基变量之上的视图(view)变量。在PyTorch中,我们有两种类型的视图:可微视图和不可微的视图。为了支持合适的版本校验,无论是哪种类型,基变量和视图变量必须分享同样的版本计数器(version_counter)。

DifferentiableViewMeta 就是用来处理可微视图。

代码语言:javascript复制
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//                     DifferentiableViewMeta
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/// DifferentiableViewMeta is created to support gradient tracking of
/// such **in-place** operations. In particular,
///     if an in-place op is done on base, the grad_fn field of the view may
///     become stale. So accesses should always go through grad_fn(), which
///     reconstructs an updated grad_fn if the version_counter has incremented.
///     All other fields are always valid.
///     if an in-place op is done on view, in rebase_history() of view, which is
///     called after every in-place op in VariableType.cpp, the grad_fn of base
///     is updated.
///     if a single autograd Node returns multiple differentiable views, if any
///     output is modified by an inplace operation, the autograd engine will make
///     an equivalent graph (corresponding to the view operations) without using
///     equivalent graph, where each output is treated as if it were produced by a
///     distinct view operation. This discards the original (e.g., user provided)
///     grad_fn. If the provided grad_fn does more than the backward of the view,
///     then the DifferentiableViewMeta must be created with creation_meta=
///     CreationMeta::MULTI_OUTPUT_NODE to prevent the engine from ignoring the
///     provided grad_fn.

enum class CreationMeta: uint8_t { DEFAULT, IN_CUSTOM_FUNCTION, MULTI_OUTPUT_NODE,
                                   NO_GRAD_MODE, MULTI_OUTPUT_SAFE, INFERENCE_MODE};

struct TORCH_API DifferentiableViewMeta : public AutogradMeta {
private:
  /// Informations about the views
  c10::optional<ViewInfo> backward_info_;
  c10::optional<ViewInfo> forward_info_;

  // Optimization to reduce the number of ViewInfo we create.
  // In the (very common) case where backward_info_ == forward_info_, we only
  // populate backward_info_ (that should be used as both the forward and backward
  // view information) and set shared_view_info_ = true.
  // Invariants:
  //   - If shared_view_info_ is false, there is no special constraints on
  //     backward_info_ and forward_info_
  //   - If shared_view_info_ is true, we must have:
  //      - backward_info_.has_value() == true
  //      - forward_info_.has_value() == false
  bool shared_view_info_;

  /// The two following fields are extra information that we track to ensure that
  /// any operation on this backward view is valid.

  /// The value of the version_counter at the time grad_fn was created. The
  /// grad_fn field is stale if attr_version_ != version_counter.current_version().
  uint32_t attr_version_;
  CreationMeta creation_meta_;
};

3.3 AutogradContext

AutogradContext 是操作 autograd 的上下文,用来存储在前向过程中产生的信息,这样在后向传播中就可以访问。

代码语言:javascript复制
/// Context to save information during `forward` that can be accessed in `backward`
/// in custom autograd operations (see `torch::autograd::Function` for details).
struct TORCH_API AutogradContext {
  // NOLINTNEXTLINE(cppcoreguidelines-pro-type-member-init)
  AutogradContext() : materialize_grads_(true) {}
  AutogradContext(const AutogradContext &other) = delete;
  AutogradContext& operator=(const AutogradContext& other) = delete;

  /// Can be used to save non-variable data for `backward`.
  // NOLINTNEXTLINE(cppcoreguidelines-non-private-member-variables-in-classes)
  ska::flat_hash_map<std::string, at::IValue> saved_data;

  /// Saves the list of variables for a future call to `backward`. This
  /// should be called at most once from inside of `forward`.
  void save_for_backward(variable_list to_save);
  /// Marks variables in the list as modified in an in-place operation. This
  /// should be called at most once from inside of `forward` and all arguments
  /// should be inputs.
  void mark_dirty(const variable_list &inputs);
  /// Marks outputs in the list as not requiring gradients. This should be called
  /// at most once from inside of `forward` and all arguments should be outputs.
  void mark_non_differentiable(const variable_list &outputs);
  // Sets whether undefined output grad tensors should be expanded to tensors
  // full of zeros before calling backward function. Default value is true.
  void set_materialize_grads(bool value);

  /// Get the list of variables that were saved in `forward` using
  /// `save_for_backward()`. Before returning them to the user, a check is made to
  /// ensure that they were not modified by any in-place operations.
  variable_list get_saved_variables() const;
  const std::unordered_set<at::TensorImpl*>& get_and_bump_dirty() const;
  const std::unordered_set<at::TensorImpl*>& get_non_differentiable() const;

private:
  std::unordered_set<at::TensorImpl*> non_differentiable_;
  std::unordered_set<at::TensorImpl*> dirty_inputs_;
  std::vector<torch::autograd::SavedVariable> saved_variables_;
  variable_list to_save_;
  bool materialize_grads_;

  // The CppNode in the autograd graph that owns this AutogradContext. We need a
  // weak_ptr to avoid a refcycle. Since grad_fn_ owns this AutogradContext, it
  // will always be alive when we want to use it.
  std::weak_ptr<Node> grad_fn_;
  bool has_freed_buffers_;

  void save_variables();

  template <class T> friend struct CppNode;
};

对用户来说,AutogradContext 主要是在 自定义 Auto Function 方面。以下是注释之中的例子。

代码语言:javascript复制
/// ```
/// class MyFunction : public Function<MyFunction> {
///   public:
///   static variable_list forward(AutogradContext *ctx, int n, Variable var) {
///      // Save data for backward in context
///      ctx->saved_data["n"] = n;
///      var.mul_(2);
///      // Mark var as modified by inplace operation
///      ctx->mark_dirty({var});
///      return {var};
///   }
///
///   static variable_list backward(AutogradContext *ctx, variable_list
///   grad_output) {
///      // Use data saved in forward
///      auto n = ctx->saved_data["n"].toInt();
///      return {grad_output[0]*n};
///   }
/// };
/// ```
///
/// To use `MyFunction`:
/// ```
/// Variable x;
/// auto y = MyFunction::apply(6, x);
/// // Example backward call
/// y[0].sum().backward();

我们籍此进入到 Auto Function。

3.4 Auto Function

Autograd使用Function来计算结果和梯度,并对操作历史进行编码。在Tensor 上执行的每个操作都会创建一个新的 Function 对象,该对象执行计算并记录发生了什么。操作历史以函数 DAG 的形式保留,边表示数据依赖关系 ( input <- output )。

通常,用户与 Function 交互的唯一方式是创建子类和定义新操作(扩展新的功能),这是扩展 torch.autograd 的推荐方式。有关如何使用此类的更多详细信息,请参阅有关扩展 autograd 引擎的说明: https://pytorch.org/docs/stable/notes/extending.html#extending-torch-autograd

用户如果要使用自定义autograd操作,请使用静态正向和反向函数实现一个Function子类。

  • forward可以接受任意多个参数,并应返回变量列表或变量。
    • 任何Variable参数的使用都将在计算图中注册,但是vectors/sets 或者其他数据结构不会遍历注册。
    • 您可以使用c10::optional作为参数之一,如果参数有值,它将在图形中注册为变量。
    • forward应该将指向“torch::autograd::AutogradContext”的指针作为第一个参数。变量可以使用“ctx->save_for_backward”,保存在“ctx->saved_data” map中,其他数据将以<std::string, at::IValue>”对的形式保存在“ctx->saved_data” map中。
  • backward应该使用指向torch::autograd::AutogradContext的指针 以及一个变量列表作为参数。
    • 该变量列表包含的变量数量与forward输出的变量数量相同。
    • backward应该返回与输入一样多的变量,其中每个变量都包含与输入相应的梯度。
    • “forward”中保存的变量可以通过“ctx->get_saved_Variables”访问,其他保存的数据可以通过“ctx->saved_data”访问。
    • 当 backward被调用时,通过调用每个Function对象的方法,并将返回的梯度传递给下一个Function ,我们就可以按照拓扑顺序来处理这个计算图 。

Function 具体派生子类例子如下:

代码语言:javascript复制
class Exp(Function):

     @staticmethod
     def forward(ctx, i):
         result = i.exp()
         ctx.save_for_backward(result)
         return result

     @staticmethod
     def backward(ctx, grad_output):
         result, = ctx.saved_tensors
         return grad_output * result

#Use it by calling the apply method:
output = Exp.apply(input)

如前所示,Function 已经被 Node 替换,所以我们再来到了 Node。

0x04 Node

早期版本中,Node的名字是Function,后来修改为Node,应该是想与节点概念更好的对应。

Node 是一个代表操作的抽象类,其输入是0个或者多个Variable,输出是0个或多个Variable。前向图中该Node节点的输入节点,就是后向传播图中该Node节点的输出节点。PyTorch的autograd机制中,所有函数都派生自此类,并重写其“apply”方法。这样子类的实例就可以通过call操作符调用。

将autograd系统视为计算图时,Node是通过(有向)Edge相互连接的顶点或节点,其本身通过(Node,input_nr)对来表示。Variable 是Node 的输入和输出,并在图形执行期间在这些边之间移动。当两个或多个“边”(来自不同来源)指向一个“节点”的同一输入时,沿所有这些边生成的值在转发到目标“节点”之前将被隐式求和。

其子类通常用来表示可微函数及其梯度算子。然而,请注意,由于“节点”的定义非常笼统,“节点”接受或更多的输入并产生或更多的输出。“节点”的使用非常灵活,超出了纯数学运算的范围。例如,AccumageGrad函数是一个sink,它接受一个输入,但不产生输出,而是将输入作为副作用进行累积。在另一端,“GraphRoot”函数不接收来自其他函数的输入,而是产生多个输出。具体可以参见 torch/csrc/autograd/function.h 的注释。

4.1 定义

我们看看 Node 类的定义,为了更好的说明,这里只保留成员变量,删除成员函数。

代码语言:javascript复制
using edge_list = std::vector<Edge>;

struct TORCH_API Node : std::enable_shared_from_this<Node> {

 protected:
  /// Performs the `Node`'s actual operation.
  virtual variable_list apply(variable_list&& inputs) = 0;

  /// Calls `apply()`, but instruments it with tracing machinery.
  variable_list traced_apply(variable_list inputs);

  /// NOTE [ Sequence Number]
  ///
  /// The sequence_nr has two main usages in autograd:
  ///
  /// 1) Helps determine the node's execution priority in the engine.
  ///    All else being equal, nodes with higher priority numbers are executed first.
  ///    Thus, nodes corresponding to ops executed later are the first to be executed in
  ///    the backward pass. One caveat is that we prioritize AccumulateGrad nodes by
  ///    explicitly setting its sequence_nr to be UINT64_MAX.
  /// 2) The sequence number of this `Node` is paired with with thread_id it was created in
  ///    as a unique identifier by the profiler to annotate recorded events.
  ///    The purpose of this is to help users (and possibly programs) interpreting the profiler's
  ///    output to correlate backward nodes with its forward ops.
  ///    We need both sequence_nr and thread_id to identify a node because sequence_nr is
  ///    thread_local, i.e., starts counting up from zero in a new thread    
    
  // Sequence number used to correlate backward nodes with forward ops in the
  // profiler and provide determinisim in the engine.
  const uint64_t sequence_nr_;


  // NOTE [ Topological Number ]
  //
  // topological_nr is used to prune branches in the DAG during autograd discovery as
  // maintaining topological_nr helps us check in O(1) if there does NOT exist
  // a directed path between two nodes.
  //
  // The topological order number of this `Node` representing the length of the
  // longest possible path from this Node to any leaf node. If you are leaf node,
  // aka AccumulateGrad, this will be zero. This value has the property that
  // For every pair of nodes X, Y in G, existence of a directed path from X to Y
  // implies topo_nr(X) > topo_nr(Y). The converse is not true, however, so we
  // cannot prove existence of a path from X to Y, only non-existence.
  //
  // One assumption we make when using topo_nr is that once a node
  // has been used, i.e., has a parent node, its own topo_nr does not change
  // we have added some checks with the `has_parent_` field to enforce this.
  //
  // What NOT to do:
  //
  //   1) 2 -> 1 -> 0               In this diagram we label nodes with their topo_nr.
  //      2 -> 1 -> 0               We have two simple graphs that can each arise from
  //                                `t.exp().exp()`, for example.
  //   2)        2 -> 1 -> 0
  //            /
  //      2 -> 1 -> 0               We add 2 as a next edge to 1 even though 1 already
  //                                has a parent.
  //   3)        2 -> 1 -> 0
  //            /
  //      2 -> 3 -> 0               2 < 3, yet there exists a path from 2 to 3!
  //
  uint64_t topological_nr_ = 0;

  // Tracks whether this node has been added as the next_edge of another node
  // via set_next_edge(s), which always calls topological_nr() of all its children
  // See NOTE [ Topological Number ] for why we need this.
  mutable bool has_parent_ = false;

  // Id of the thread that created the instance
  uint64_t thread_id_ = 0;

  std::mutex mutex_;

  // 前向过程中的输入variable,在前向过程中与该算子相关联的边
  edge_list next_edges_;
  PyObject* pyobj_ = nullptr; // weak reference
  std::unique_ptr<AnomalyMetadata> anomaly_metadata_ = nullptr;
  std::vector<std::unique_ptr<FunctionPreHook>> pre_hooks_;
  std::vector<std::unique_ptr<FunctionPostHook>> post_hooks_;
  at::SmallVector<InputMetadata, 2> input_metadata_;
    
  // 这里对运算符()进行重载,核心其实就是调用apply()
  variable_list operator()(variable_list&& inputs) {
    // In the first iteration of named tensors, autograd ignores names and
    // operates on unnamed tensors. In the long term, autograd should
    // probably operate with names.
    at::NoNamesGuard no_names_guard;

    bool pre_sampled = false;
    if (at::shouldRunRecordFunction(&pre_sampled)) {
      // Using RecordFunction to trigger observers in the backward pass
      at::RecordFunction guard(at::RecordScope::BACKWARD_FUNCTION, pre_sampled);
      if (guard.isActive()) {
        // Using sequence number and thread id to correlate with
        // the forward pass function
        guard.setForwardThreadId(thread_id_);
        if (guard.needsInputs()) {
          guard.before(
            name(),
            std::vector<c10::IValue>(inputs.begin(), inputs.end()),
            sequence_nr());
        } else {
          guard.before(name(), sequence_nr());
        }
      }
      // keeping stack guard object alive during the call
      return apply(std::move(inputs));
    } else {
      return apply(std::move(inputs));
    }
  }    
};

其构造函数是:

代码语言:javascript复制
  explicit Node(
      uint64_t sequence_nr,
      edge_list&& next_edges = edge_list())
      : sequence_nr_(sequence_nr),
      next_edges_(std::move(next_edges)) {

    for (const Edge& edge: next_edges_) {
      update_topological_nr(edge);
    }

    if (AnomalyMode::is_enabled()) {
      metadata()->store_stack();

      // If anomaly mode is enabled and graph is constructed, then assign the
      // currently evaluating node as the parent of this node.
      // A parent is a Node where this Node is created.
      // We are tracking the parents to track multiple backward operations.
      assign_parent();
    }

    // Store the thread_id of the forward operator.
    // See NOTE [ Sequence Numbers ]
    thread_id_ = at::RecordFunction::currentThreadId();
  }

4.2 重要成员变量

我们具体解释一些重要成员变量。

4.2.1 input_metadata_

input_metadata_ 代表了 input data 的元信息,界定了一个Function的输入参数。

4.2.2 next_edges_

这是在前向过程中与该算子相关联的边。

我们将 PyTorch的autograd系统看作是一个图,每个 Node 实例就是图节点,各个 Node 实例之间则是通过Edge连接的。Edge是个结构体,通过 (Function, input_nr) 的配对来代表graph中的边。Node 的成员 next_edges_ 正是一组这样的Edge实例,其代表此 Node 实例的返回值要输出到的(另外)Node,即 next_edges_是 Node 和Node 之间的纽带。

Node 的输入输出都是Variable实例,因此当一个graph被执行的时候,Variable实例就在这些edges之间来传输流动。当两个或者多个Edge指向同一个Node的时候(这个节点的入度大于1),这些edges的输出将被隐含相加起来再送给指向的目标 Node。

用户可以使用add_next_edge()来向 Node 添加一个edge, 通过next_edge(index)获取对应的edge,通过next_edges()方法获得迭代edge的迭代器。

4.2.3 sequence_nr_

该变量用于将网络中的后向节点与前向操作关联起来,并且在引擎中提供确定信息。sequence_nr_ 随着Function实例的不断构建而单调增长,具体有两个用处:

  • 帮助确定节点在引擎中的执行优先级。在所有其他条件相同的情况下,优先级较高的节点将首先执行。因此,前向传播时后执行的操作就是后向传播之中先执行的操作。需要注意的一点是,对于 AccumulateGrad 节点,我们将sequence_nr显式地设置为UINT64_MAX。在PyTorch的反向图计算中,AccumulateGrad类型代表的就是叶子节点类型,也就是计算图终止节点。AccumulateGrad类中有一个.variable属性指向叶子节点。
  • 此“节点”的 sequence_nr_ 与 thread_id 一起搭配,作为一个节点的唯一标示,在 profiler 之中记录事件。这样做的目的是帮助用户(可能还有程序)解释 profiler 的输出,以便将向后的节点与其向前的操作关联起来。因为 sequence_nr 是 thread_local 类型变量,即在新线程中从零开始计数。
4.2.4 topological_nr_

此变量是 “节点”的拓扑顺序号,表示从该节点到任何叶节点的最长可能路径的长度。如果有一个叶节点,即AccumulateGrad,topological_nr_ 将是零。

topological_nr_ 用于在autograd发现期间对DAG中的分支进行修剪,维护拓扑 topological_nr_有助于我们在两个节点之间不存在有向路径时,在O(1) 时间完成检查。

topological_nr_ 具有以下属性:

  • 对于G中的每一对节点X,Y,如果存在从X到Y的有向路径,则意味着 topo_nr(X) > topo_nr(Y)。然而,事实并非如此,因此我们无法证明从X到Y的路径的存在性,只能证明不存在。
  • 我们在使用 topological_nr_ 时所做的一个假设是:一旦使用了一个节点,即它有一个父节点,那么它自己的topological_nr_ 就不会改变。我们在“has_parent_”字段中添加了一些检查来强制执行这一点。
4.2.5 operator()

variable_list operator()(variable_list&& inputs)是Node的主要方法。该方法接收vector封装的多个Variable实例,并输出vector封装的多个Variable实例,然后调用apply 具体业务函数。该方法依靠C 的多态,将对operator 的调用转化为对自身(子类)的apply方法调用。

PyTorch中所有用于反向传播计算的函数都继承自Function类,并重写Function类中的apply纯虚函数。

0x05 Edge

从名字可知,Edge 就是计算图的边。主要变量是:

  • std::shared_ptr function :本边指向的目标Node。
  • uint32_t input_nr : 指定本Edge是 function 的第几个输入 。
代码语言:javascript复制
using tensor_list = std::vector<at::Tensor>;
using variable_list = std::vector<Variable>;
using edge_list = std::vector<Edge>;
using saved_variable_list = std::vector<SavedVariable>;
using IndexRange = std::pair<size_t, size_t>;

/// Represents a particular input of a function.
struct Edge {
  Edge() noexcept : function(nullptr), input_nr(0) {}

  Edge(std::shared_ptr<Node> function_, uint32_t input_nr_) noexcept
      : function(std::move(function_)), input_nr(input_nr_) {}

  /// Convenience method to test if an edge is valid.
  bool is_valid() const noexcept {
    return function != nullptr;
  }

  // Required for use in associative containers.
  bool operator==(const Edge& other) const noexcept {
    return this->function == other.function && this->input_nr == other.input_nr;
  }

  bool operator!=(const Edge& other) const noexcept {
    return !(*this == other);
  }

  /// The function this `Edge` points to.
  std::shared_ptr<Node> function; // 指向的Node

  /// The identifier of a particular input to the function.
  uint32_t input_nr; //指定本Edge是function的第几个输入 
};
}} // namespace torch::autograd

0x06 逻辑图

我们把文初的逻辑图细化如下,上半部分是 Python 世界,下半部分是 C 世界:

代码语言:javascript复制
 --------------------------------------------           ------------------------------ 
| SubBackward0                               |         | PowBackward0                 |
|                                            |         |                              |  Edge
|                                            |         |            next_functions   ----------> ...
|   next_functions[0] = (PowBackward0, 0)  ----------> |                              |
|                                            |          ------------------------------ 
|                                            |
|                                            |          ------------------------------- 
|   next_functions[1] = (MulBackward0, 0)  ----------> | MulBackward0                  |
|                                            |         |                               |  Edge
|                                            |         |             next_functions   ----------> ...
 --------------------------------------------          |                               |
                                                        ------------------------------- 
                      ^
                      |
                      |
                      |                                                                            Python
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                      |                                                                            C  
                      |
                      v

 ---------------------------------------------         ----------------------          ------------------ 
| SubBackward0                                |       | Edge 1               |        | PowBackward0     |
|                          -------------------------> |                      |        |                  |
|                         |                   |       |         function  ----------> |                  |
|                                             |       |                      |        |                  |
|        next_edges_ = [Edge 1, Edge 2]       |       |         input_nr = 0 |        |                  |
|                                             |        ----------------------          ------------------ 
|                                  |          |
|                                  |          |
 ---------------------------------------------         ----------------------          ------------------ 
                                   |                  | Edge 2               |        | MulBackward0     |
                                   |                  |                      |        |                  |
                                    ----------------> |         function  ----------> |                  |
                                                      |                      |        |                  |
                                                      |         input_nr = 0 |        |                  |
                                                      |                      |        |                  |
                                                       ----------------------          ------------------ 

手机如下:

至此,传播过程中的基础类已经分析完毕,下一篇我们介绍如何使用这些类来完成前向传播。

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