title: Solving embarassingly parallel problems using Python multiprocessing
body: <p>How does one use <a href="http://docs.python.org/library/multiprocessing.html" rel="noreferrer">multiprocessing</a> to tackle <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embarrassingly_parallel" rel="noreferrer">embarrassingly parallel problems</a>?</p>
  
  <p>Embarassingly parallel problems typically consist of three basic parts:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><strong>Read</strong> input data (from a file, database, tcp connection, etc.).</li>
  <li><strong>Run</strong> calculations on the input data, where each calculation is <em>independent of any other calculation</em>.</li>
  <li><strong>Write</strong> results of calculations (to a file, database, tcp connection, etc.).</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>We can parallelize the program in two dimensions:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Part 2 can run on multiple cores, since each calculation is independent; order of processing doesn't matter.</li>
  <li>Each part can run independently. Part 1 can place data on an input queue, part 2 can pull data off the input queue and put results onto an output queue, and part 3 can pull results off the output queue and write them out.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>This seems a most basic pattern in concurrent programming, but I am still lost in trying to solve it, so <strong>let's write a canonical example to illustrate how this is done using multiprocessing</strong>.</p>
  
  <p>Here is the example problem: Given a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values" rel="noreferrer">CSV file</a> with rows of integers as input, compute their sums. Separate the problem into three parts, which can all run in parallel:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Process the input file into raw data (lists/iterables of integers)</li>
  <li>Calculate the sums of the data, in parallel</li>
  <li>Output the sums</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Below is traditional, single-process bound Python program which solves these three tasks:</p>
  
  <pre><code>#!/usr/bin/env python
  # -*- coding: UTF-8 -*-
  # basicsums.py
  """A program that reads integer values from a CSV file and writes out their
  sums to another CSV file.
  """
  
  import csv
  import optparse
  import sys
  
  def make_cli_parser():
      """Make the command line interface parser."""
      usage = "\n\n".join(["python %prog INPUT_CSV OUTPUT_CSV",
              __doc__,
              """
  ARGUMENTS:
      INPUT_CSV: an input CSV file with rows of numbers
      OUTPUT_CSV: an output file that will contain the sums\
  """])
      cli_parser = optparse.OptionParser(usage)
      return cli_parser
  
  
  def parse_input_csv(csvfile):
      """Parses the input CSV and yields tuples with the index of the row
      as the first element, and the integers of the row as the second
      element.
  
      The index is zero-index based.
  
      :Parameters:
      - `csvfile`: a `csv.reader` instance
  
      """
      for i, row in enumerate(csvfile):
          row = [int(entry) for entry in row]
          yield i, row
  
  
  def sum_rows(rows):
      """Yields a tuple with the index of each input list of integers
      as the first element, and the sum of the list of integers as the
      second element.
  
      The index is zero-index based.
  
      :Parameters:
      - `rows`: an iterable of tuples, with the index of the original row
        as the first element, and a list of integers as the second element
  
      """
      for i, row in rows:
          yield i, sum(row)
  
  
  def write_results(csvfile, results):
      """Writes a series of results to an outfile, where the first column
      is the index of the original row of data, and the second column is
      the result of the calculation.
  
      The index is zero-index based.
  
      :Parameters:
      - `csvfile`: a `csv.writer` instance to which to write results
      - `results`: an iterable of tuples, with the index (zero-based) of
        the original row as the first element, and the calculated result
        from that row as the second element
  
      """
      for result_row in results:
          csvfile.writerow(result_row)
  
  
  def main(argv):
      cli_parser = make_cli_parser()
      opts, args = cli_parser.parse_args(argv)
      if len(args) != 2:
          cli_parser.error("Please provide an input file and output file.")
      infile = open(args[0])
      in_csvfile = csv.reader(infile)
      outfile = open(args[1], 'w')
      out_csvfile = csv.writer(outfile)
      # gets an iterable of rows that's not yet evaluated
      input_rows = parse_input_csv(in_csvfile)
      # sends the rows iterable to sum_rows() for results iterable, but
      # still not evaluated
      result_rows = sum_rows(input_rows)
      # finally evaluation takes place as a chain in write_results()
      write_results(out_csvfile, result_rows)
      infile.close()
      outfile.close()
  
  
  if __name__ == '__main__':
      main(sys.argv[1:])
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Let's take this program and rewrite it to use multiprocessing to parallelize the three parts outlined above. Below is a skeleton of this new, parallelized program, that needs to be fleshed out to address the parts in the comments:</p>
  
  <pre><code>#!/usr/bin/env python
  # -*- coding: UTF-8 -*-
  # multiproc_sums.py
  """A program that reads integer values from a CSV file and writes out their
  sums to another CSV file, using multiple processes if desired.
  """
  
  import csv
  import multiprocessing
  import optparse
  import sys
  
  NUM_PROCS = multiprocessing.cpu_count()
  
  def make_cli_parser():
      """Make the command line interface parser."""
      usage = "\n\n".join(["python %prog INPUT_CSV OUTPUT_CSV",
              __doc__,
              """
  ARGUMENTS:
      INPUT_CSV: an input CSV file with rows of numbers
      OUTPUT_CSV: an output file that will contain the sums\
  """])
      cli_parser = optparse.OptionParser(usage)
      cli_parser.add_option('-n', '--numprocs', type='int',
              default=NUM_PROCS,
              help="Number of processes to launch [DEFAULT: %default]")
      return cli_parser
  
  
  def main(argv):
      cli_parser = make_cli_parser()
      opts, args = cli_parser.parse_args(argv)
      if len(args) != 2:
          cli_parser.error("Please provide an input file and output file.")
      infile = open(args[0])
      in_csvfile = csv.reader(infile)
      outfile = open(args[1], 'w')
      out_csvfile = csv.writer(outfile)
  
      # Parse the input file and add the parsed data to a queue for
      # processing, possibly chunking to decrease communication between
      # processes.
  
      # Process the parsed data as soon as any (chunks) appear on the
      # queue, using as many processes as allotted by the user
      # (opts.numprocs); place results on a queue for output.
      #
      # Terminate processes when the parser stops putting data in the
      # input queue.
  
      # Write the results to disk as soon as they appear on the output
      # queue.
  
      # Ensure all child processes have terminated.
  
      # Clean up files.
      infile.close()
      outfile.close()
  
  
  if __name__ == '__main__':
      main(sys.argv[1:])
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>These pieces of code, as well as <a href="http://github.com/gotgenes/multiprocessing_examples/blob/master/generate_random_ints.py" rel="noreferrer">another piece of code that can generate example CSV files</a> for testing purposes, can be <a href="http://github.com/gotgenes/multiprocessing_examples" rel="noreferrer">found on github</a>.</p>
  
  <p>I would appreciate any insight here as to how you concurrency gurus would approach this problem.</p>
  
  <hr />
  
  <p><strong>Here are some questions I had when thinking about this problem.</strong> Bonus points for addressing any/all:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Should I have child processes for reading in the data and placing it into the queue, or can the main process do this without blocking until all input is read?</li>
  <li>Likewise, should I have a child process for writing the results out from the processed queue, or can the main process do this without having to wait for all the results?</li>
  <li>Should I use a <a href="http://docs.python.org/library/multiprocessing.html#module-multiprocessing.pool" rel="noreferrer">processes pool</a> for the sum operations?
  
  <ul>
  <li>If yes, what method do I call on the pool to get it to start processing the results coming into the input queue, without blocking the input and output processes, too? <a href="http://docs.python.org/library/multiprocessing.html#multiprocessing.pool.multiprocessing.Pool.apply_async" rel="noreferrer">apply_async()</a>? <a href="http://docs.python.org/library/multiprocessing.html#multiprocessing.pool.multiprocessing.Pool.map_async" rel="noreferrer">map_async()</a>? <a href="http://docs.python.org/library/multiprocessing.html#multiprocessing.pool.multiprocessing.Pool.imap" rel="noreferrer">imap()</a>? <a href="http://docs.python.org/library/multiprocessing.html#multiprocessing.pool.multiprocessing.Pool.imap_unordered" rel="noreferrer">imap_unordered()</a>?</li>
  </ul></li>
  <li>Suppose we didn't need to siphon off the input and output queues as data entered them, but could wait until all input was parsed and all results were calculated (e.g., because we know all the input and output will fit in system memory). Should we change the algorithm in any way (e.g., not run any processes concurrently with I/O)?</li>
  </ul>