1. Style and Conventions

1.1 Style Guide

Composer generally follows Google's Python Style Guide for how to format and structure code.

1.2. Pre-Commit Hooks

Composer uses Pre Commit to enforce style checks. To configure, run

pip install '.[dev]'  # if not already installed
pre-commit install

The pre-commit hooks will now be run before each commit. You can also run the hooks manually via:

pre-commit run  # run all hooks on changed files
pre-commit run --all-files  # or, run all hooks on all files

1.3. Code Formatting

Composer uses the yapf formatter for general formatting isort to sort imports. These checks run through pre-commit (see section 2.2). These checks can also be run manually via:

pre-commit run yapf --all-files  # for yapf
pre-commit run isort --all-files  # for isort

The configuration is stored in pyproject.toml.

1.4. Code Structure

As a general rule of thumb,

Don't: Default to using inheritance for code reuse

Do: prefer composition over inheritance
Don't: strive to implement all logic using classes

Do: strive to implement logic as pure functions when possible, and classes when there is good reason

Don't: Have a function accept falsy values that would then result in a no-op.

Example of the anti-pattern:

from typing import Optional

def configure_deepspeed(deepspeed_config: Optional[dict]):
    if deepspeed_config is None:
        # Don't do this check in the callee, which results in a no-op
        return
    ...

Do: Require the caller, instead of the callee, check for and handle falsy values. It's ok to accept falsy values for individual arguments of a caller function, so long as the entire function would not be a no-op.

Example:

from typing import Optional

def configure_deepspeed(deepspeed_config: dict):
    ...

def trainer(deepspeed_config: Optional[dict]):
    if deepspeed_config is not None:
        # Do this check in the caller function
        configure_deepspeed(deepspeed_config)
    ...

2. Type Annotations and Typechecking

Composer aims to annotate all functions with type annotations (introduced in PEP 526). Type annotations help statically catch TypeError and AttributeError bugs, in addition to other benefits, as outlined in the PEP.

For documentation on typing annotations, see:

PEP 483 for a simplified introducation
PEP 484 for the full specification
Python docs for typing for the API reference

Composer uses pyright to validate type annotations. PyRight is automatically run as part of the pre-commit hooks, but you can also run PyRight specifically via:

pre-commit run pyright --all-files

The pyright configuration is stored in pyproject.toml.

2.1 Debugging

Here are some suggestions to deal with pyright errors:

Suppose a variable could be one of multiple types, like the following:

from typing import Union

def foo(x: Union[int, None]):
    return x + 5  # type error -- None + 5 is not allowed!

PyRight will complain since None + 5 is not a valid operation. Instead, add a check to ensure that x is not None:

from typing import Union

def foo(x: Union[int, None]):
    if x is None:
        raise TypeError("x must be an integer, not None!")
    return x + 5  # valid

Assert statements also work. However, assert statements should not be used for data validation (see the assert statement section below).

from typing import Union

def foo(x: Union[int, None]):
    assert x is not None, "x should never be None"
    return x + 5  # valid

For variables where it is impossible for pyright to infer the correct type, use cast.
As a last resort, add a # type: ignore comment to the line where pyright emits an error. Immediately following this statement, paste in the error emitted by pyright, so other contributors will know why this error was silenced.

3. Public APIs

A public API, generally speaking, can be invoked by a user without a leading underscore in any portion of the path. The following are examples of public APIs:

Standalone functions in public modules (e.g. composer.utils.dist.get_world_size)
Classes in public modules (e.g. composer.trainer.trainer.Trainer)
Public methods in public classes (e.g. composer.trainer.trainer.Trainer.fit)
Public modules (e.g. composer.trainer.trainer)

The following rules apply to public APIs:

All public APIs must have a docstring (see the Documentation section below)
All parameters must have type annotations.
To minimize user imports, parameters should should use native PyTorch or Python types whenever possible.

It is acceptable to use a union of types, so long as one of the options is a primitive. For example, in the constructor for composer.trainer.trainer.Trainer, the device parameter is annotated like the following:
```
from typing import Optional, Union

from composer.devices import Device

class Trainer:
    def __init__(
        self,
        device: Union[str, Device],
    ):
        if isinstance(device, str):
            device = Device(device)
        ...
```
This signature allows a user to pass a string for a device, rather than having to import our custom device class.

Parameters that are for power users (such as load_object_store) in the Trainer are exempt from this rule. These parameters can require custom imports.
Parameters that could take a sequence of elements should also allow None or a singleton. This simplifies the user API by not having to construct a list (or tuple) to hold a single element (or no element). For example, use Optional[Union[torch.Tensor, Sequence[torch.Tensor]].

The composer.utils.ensure_tuple helper method can convert a singleton, list, or tuple into a tuple. For example
```
from torch import Tensor
from typing import Optional, Sequence, Tuple, Union
from composer.utils import ensure_tuple

def foo(x: Optional[Union[Tensor, Sequence[Tensor]]]) -> Tuple[Tensor, ...]:
    return ensure_tuple(x)  # ensures that the result is always a (potentially empty) tuple of tensors
```

4. Use of `assert`

assert should be used only in test cases and for verifying invariants (likely required for type checking), not for data validation. As asserts can be disabled in python by using the -O flag (e.g. python -O path/to/script.py), they are not guaranteed to run. For data validation, instead use a style like the following:

if parameter is None:
    raise ValueError("parameter must be specified and cannot be None")

5. Imports and `init.py`

All imports in composer should be absolute -- that is, they do not begin with a period.

5.1 External Dependencies

All external dependencies must be specified in both setup.py for pip and meta.yaml for Anaconda.
If a dependency is not core to Composer (e.g. it is for a model, dataset, algorithm, or some callbacks):
1. It must be specified in a entry of the extra_deps dictionary of setup.py. This dictionary groups dependencies that can be conditionally installed. An entry named foo can be installed with pip install 'mosaicml[foo]'. For example, running pip install 'mosaicml[system_metrics_monitor]' will install everything in install_requires, along with pynvml.
2. It must also be specified in the run_constrained and the test.requires section.
3. The import must be conditionally imported in the code. For example:
```
from composer import Callback
from composer.utils import MissingConditionalImportError

class SystemMetricsMonitor(Callback)
    try:
        import pynvml
    except ImportError as e:
        raise MissingConditionalImportError(extra_deps_group="system_metrics_monitor",
                                            conda_package="pynvml",
                                            conda_channel="conda-forge",) from e
```
  This style allows users to perform minimal install of Composer without triggering ImportErrors if an optional dependency is missing.
  
  If the corresponding package is not published on Anaconda, then set the conda_package to the pip package name, and set conda_channel to None. For example, with DeepSpeed:
```
from composer.utils import MissingConditionalImportError

try:
    import deepspeed
except ImportError as e:
    raise MissingConditionalImportError(extra_deps_group="deepspeed",
                                        conda_package="deepspeed>=0.5.5",
                                        conda_channel=None) from e
```
4. If the dependency is core to Composer, add the dependency to the install_requires section of setup.py and the requirements.run section of meta.yaml.

5.2 Use of `all`

All public modules must define __all__ to be the list of members that should be re-exported. The variable is necessary to 1) limit what from XXX import * imports, and 2) ensure that the documentation only includes exported members, not unrelated re-imports.

For example, from composer/callbacks/memory_monitor.py

"""Log memory usage during training."""
import logging
from typing import Dict, Union

import torch.cuda

from composer.core import State
from composer.loggers import Logger
from composer.core.callback import Callback

log = logging.getLogger(__name__)

__all__ = ["MemoryMonitor"]  # export only the MemoryMonitor, not other imports like `Logger`, `State`, or `Callback`


class MemoryMonitor(Callback):
    ...

5.3 `init.py`

All public classes and functions should be added to the module's __init__.py.

from composer.path.to.module.file import MyClass as MyClass
from composer.path.to.module.file import my_func as my_func

If a file only contains public functions, then the following is also acceptable:

from composer.path.to.module import my_file as my_file

6. Documentation

6.1 Docstrings

Composer uses Google Style Docstrings. All public APIs require documentation.

6.1.1 What to include in Docstrings?

Docstrings, at a minimum, should include a summary of what the function or class does, along with the arguments it takes. See below for how to format docstrings. The Google Style Guide also includes some guidelines on how to write docstrings.

6.1.2 Formatting Docstrings

The following guidelines apply to documentation.

Each function that needs a docstring must have its input arguments, return statement (if not None), and any custom exceptions annotated.
The arguments for the __init__ signature of classes should be documented under the class-level docstring. There should not be any __init__-level docstring.

Each argument annotation should include the type. If the argument has a default value, the type annotation should specify "optional", and the docstring should say the default value. Some examples:

from typing import Optional, Tuple, Union

def foo(bar: int):
    """Foo.

    Args:
        bar (int): Required bar.
    """
    ...

def foo2(bar: int = 42):
    """Foo2.

    Args:
        bar (int, optional): The first Argument. Default: ``42``.
    """
    ...

def foo3(bar: Optional[int] = None):
    """Foo3.

    Args:
        bar (int, optional): The first Argument. Default: ``None``.
    """
    ...

def foo4(bar: Union[int, str] = 42):
    """Foo4.

    Args:
        bar (int | str, optional): The first Argument. Default: ``42``.
    """
    ...

def foo5(bar: int) -> int:
    """Foo5.

    Args:
        bar (int): Required bar.

    Returns:
        int: Description of return statement.
    """
    ...

def foo6(bar: int) -> Tuple[int, str]:
    """Foo6.

    Args:
        bar (int): Required bar.

    Returns:
        a (int): Returned value.
        b (str): Returned value.
    """
    ...

6.1.3 Building and Viewing Docs Locally

Assuming you already have a development install of Composer (see these instructions), here’s how to build and previous the docs locally.

️️ ⚠ Warning: Jenkins treats all sphinx warnings as errors, so they must be addressed before a PR can be merged. Building docs locally can help debug any warnings showing up on Jenkins!

In one terminal, run:

source path/to/composer_venv/bin/activate  # activate your composer virtual env
cd composer/docs  # cd to the docs folder insde your composer clone
make clean
make html

In a second terminal, run:

cd composer/docs
python3 -m http.server --directory _build/html/

Then, navigate to http://localhost:8000 in your browser.

6.2 Doctests

Most docstrings should also include a .. doctest or .. testcode example to clearly illustrate how one would interact with the class or function. As part of the CI/CD process, all .. doctest blocks are executed to ensure the example in the documentation actually works.

6.2.1 Writing Doctests

See the Sphinx Doctest Extension for all of the available directives. Do not use .. code-block:: for Python examples, as they are untested.

Any test fixtures for doctests should go in docs/source/doctest_fixtures.py or in a .. testsetup:: block.

For example:

import torch
from typing import Optional

def my_function(x: Optional[torch.Tensor]) -> torch.Tensor:
    """blah function

    Args:
        input (torch.Tensor): Your guess.

    Returns:
        torch.Tensor: How good your input is.

    Raises:
        ValueError: If your input is negative.

    Example:
        .. testsetup::

            # optional setup section, not shown in docs
            import torch
            x = torch.randn(42)


        .. testcode::

            # shown in docs; runs after testsetup
            my_function(x)
    """
    ...

All doctests load the docs/source/doctest_fixtures.py file before tests run. If there are any variables that would be helpful have defined for all tests, feel free to add them into this file. However, if a variable is more specific to an individual doctest, then it would be best to include it in a .. testsetup:: block, as not to pollute the global fixture namespace. (Unlike pytest fixtures, all doctest fixtures are given to every doctest; they cannot be specifically requested)

6.2.2 Running Doctests Locally

Assuming you already have a development install of Composer (see these instructions), here’s how to run the doctests.

source path/to/composer_venv/bin/activate  # activate your composer virtual env
cd composer/docs  # cd to the docs folder insde your composer clone
make clean
make html  # the html build must be completed first to ensure all doctests are identified
make doctest 2>/dev/null # For more verbosity, do not direct stderr to /dev/null

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STYLE_GUIDE.md

STYLE_GUIDE.md

1. Style and Conventions

1.1 Style Guide

1.2. Pre-Commit Hooks

1.3. Code Formatting

1.4. Code Structure

2. Type Annotations and Typechecking

2.1 Debugging

3. Public APIs

4. Use of `assert`

5. Imports and `init.py`

5.1 External Dependencies

5.2 Use of `all`

5.3 `init.py`

6. Documentation

6.1 Docstrings

6.1.1 What to include in Docstrings?

6.1.2 Formatting Docstrings

6.1.3 Building and Viewing Docs Locally

6.2 Doctests

6.2.1 Writing Doctests

6.2.2 Running Doctests Locally

Files

STYLE_GUIDE.md

Latest commit

History

STYLE_GUIDE.md

File metadata and controls

1. Style and Conventions

1.1 Style Guide

1.2. Pre-Commit Hooks

1.3. Code Formatting

1.4. Code Structure

2. Type Annotations and Typechecking

2.1 Debugging

3. Public APIs

4. Use of assert

5. Imports and __init__.py

5.1 External Dependencies

5.2 Use of __all__

5.3 __init__.py

6. Documentation

6.1 Docstrings

6.1.1 What to include in Docstrings?

6.1.2 Formatting Docstrings

6.1.3 Building and Viewing Docs Locally

6.2 Doctests

6.2.1 Writing Doctests

6.2.2 Running Doctests Locally

4. Use of `assert`

5. Imports and `init.py`

5.2 Use of `all`

5.3 `init.py`