Pragmatic Programmer on Meta Programming

Tip 29

Write Code that Writes Code.

- The Pragmatic Programmer, Hunt and Thomas,[1]
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 0 / 28

Lightweight Abstractions in C++

- An Introduction to CRTP and Expression Templates -

Peter Steinbach
Scientic Computing Facility Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

Dec 12nd, 2013

Outline

1. Motivation 2. Performant Inheritance 3. Expressive And Fast Calculations 4. The Case of Eigen 5. Summary 6. Appendix 7. Literature

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Outline

1. Motivation 2. Performant Inheritance 3. Expressive And Fast Calculations 4. The Case of Eigen 5. Summary 6. Appendix 7. Literature

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Motivation : Why Abstractions?

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Motivation : Why Abstractions?

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Motivation : The Following Slides ...

Abstractions in C++

Disclaimer

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Outline

1. Motivation 2. Performant Inheritance 3. Expressive And Fast Calculations 4. The Case of Eigen 5. Summary 6. Appendix 7. Literature

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CRTP: Virtual Inheritance Example

ROOT TH1D

one-dimensional histogram with double precision data extensive use of virtual inheritance overloaded with responsibilities
root.cern.ch[2]

to be fair: late 1990s, early 2000s

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CRTP: Virtual Inheritance Example

ROOT TH1D

one-dimensional histogram with double precision data extensive use of virtual inheritance overloaded with responsibilities
root.cern.ch[2]

to be fair: late 1990s, early 2000s

List of virtual functions lls six A4 pages!

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CRTP: Virtual Inheritance Recap

1

class AbstrBase { public : virtual unsigned update ( const unsigned & _in ) const = 0; }; class Derived : public AbstrBase { public : unsigned update ( const unsigned & _in ) const { return _in - 1; } };

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dynamic polymorphism
function pointers to available implementations stored on stack pointers resolved through table ( vtable)
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CRTP: Virtual Inheritance Experiment

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unsigned count_down ( AbstrBase * _updater , const unsigned & _start_index ){ unsigned i = _start_index ; for (; i >0;) { i = _updater - > update ( i ) ; } return i ; }

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CRTP: Virtual Inheritance Experiment

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unsigned count_down ( AbstrBase * _updater , const unsigned & _start_index ){ unsigned i = _start_index ; for (; i >0;) { i = _updater - > update ( i ) ; } return i ; }

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g++ -O3, 230 0

t = 2.1 s
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 9 / 28

CRTP: Curiously Recurring Template Pattern

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template < typename Daughter > struct CRTPBase { int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } }; struct CRTPDerived : public CRTPBase < CRTPDerived > { int do_update ( const int & _in ) const { return _in - 1; } }; rst discussed in 1995 [3] sub-templated Design-by-Policy implementation [4]
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CRTP: CRTP = strange name

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template < typename Daughter > struct CRTPBase { int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } };

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struct CRTPDerived : public CRTPBase < CRTPDerived > { int do_update ( const int & _in ) const { return _in - 1; } }; CRTPDerived declared

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CRTP: CRTP = strange name

2

template < typename Daughter > struct CRTPBase { int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } };

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struct CRTPDerived : public CRTPBase < CRTPDerived > { int do_update ( const int & _in ) const { return _in - 1; } }; CRTPDerived declared CRTPBase instantiated
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 11 / 28

CRTP: CRTP = strange name

2

template < typename Daughter > struct CRTPBase { int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } };

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struct CRTPDerived : public CRTPBase < CRTPDerived > { int do_update ( const int & _in ) const { return _in - 1; } }; CRTPDerived declared CRTPBase instantiated
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG)

CRTPBase::update declaration instantiated

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CRTP: CRTP = strange name

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template < typename Daughter > struct CRTPBase { int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } };

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struct CRTPDerived : public CRTPBase < CRTPDerived > { int do_update ( const int & _in ) const { return _in - 1; } }; CRTPDerived declared CRTPBase instantiated
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CRTPBase::update declaration instantiated CRTPDerived dened

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CRTP: CRTP = strange name

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template < typename Daughter > struct CRTPBase { int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } };

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struct CRTPDerived : public CRTPBase < CRTPDerived > { int do_update ( const int & _in ) const { return _in - 1; } }; CRTPDerived declared CRTPBase instantiated
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG)

CRTPBase::update declaration instantiated CRTPDerived dened

LightAbstractions

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CRTP: CRTP = strange name

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template < typename Daughter > struct CRTPBase { int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } };

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struct CRTPDerived : public CRTPBase < CRTPDerived > { int do_update ( const int & _in ) const { return _in - 1; } }; CRTPDerived declared CRTPBase instantiated
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG)

CRTPBase::update declaration instantiated CRTPDerived dened

LightAbstractions

CRTPDerived dened CRTPBase::update denition instantiated if needed

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CRTP: CRTP = strange name

template < typename T > unsigned count_down ( const T & _updater , const unsigned & _start_index ){ unsigned i = _start_index ; for (; i >0;) i = _updater . update ( i ) ; return i ; }

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CRTP: CRTP = strange name

1

template < typename T > unsigned count_down ( const T & _updater , const unsigned & _start_index ){ unsigned i = _start_index ; for (; i >0;) i = _updater . update ( i ) ; return i ; }

g++ -O3, 230 0

Any Guesses?
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 12 / 28

CRTP: CRTP = strange name

1

template < typename T > unsigned count_down ( const T & _updater , const unsigned & _start_index ){ unsigned i = _start_index ; for (; i >0;) i = _updater . update ( i ) ; return i ; }

g++ -O3, 230 0

t = 0s
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 12 / 28

CRTP: Whats going on?

1

template < typename Daughter > class CRTPBase { public : int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } };

0 s . . . a bug? compiler simply emitted no code for crtp count down optimisation schemes dropped redundant operations impossible with dynamic polymorphism vtable incurs branching (virtual = 1000x branches than crtp) for loop acutally performed including indirection through inheritance
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 13 / 28

CRTP: Wrap-Up
1

template < typename Daughter > class CRTPBase { public : int update ( const int & _in ) const { return Daughter :: do_update ( _in ) ; } };

Pros and Cons

code reuse through common base class interface exibility of class composition retained open for compiler optimisations functionality through class communication (OO design) compiler aided removal of virtual inheritance -fdevirtualize [5] price: no runtime exibility
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 14 / 28

Outline

1. Motivation 2. Performant Inheritance 3. Expressive And Fast Calculations 4. The Case of Eigen 5. Summary 6. Appendix 7. Literature

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ExprTempl: Adding two Vectors

cBLAS
1

double a [4] = {2 , 3 , 4 , 5}; double b [4] = {5 , 4 , 9 , 2}; // b <- 1.0* a + b cblas_daxpy (4 , 1.0 , a , 1 ,

b , 1) ;

Taken from http://www.mitchr.me/SS/exampleCode/blas/blas1C.c.html

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ExprTempl: Adding two Vectors

cBLAS
1

double a [4] = {2 , 3 , 4 , 5}; double b [4] = {5 , 4 , 9 , 2}; // b <- 1.0* a + b cblas_daxpy (4 , 1.0 , a , 1 ,

b , 1) ;

Taken from http://www.mitchr.me/SS/exampleCode/blas/blas1C.c.html

Something readable would be nice! Vector a ( N ) , b ( N ) , c ( N ) ; // fill Vector ( s ) a and b c = a + b;

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ExprTempl: A Standard Implementation

1

inline const Vector operator +( const Vector & _first , const Vector & _second ) { Vector temporary ( _first . size () ) ; for ( size_t index = 0; index < _first . size () ;++ index ) temporary [ index ] = _first [ index ] + _second [ index ]; return temporary ;

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Issues
large vectors: temporary becomes the bottleneck

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ExprTempl: A Standard Implementation

1

inline const Vector operator +( const Vector & _first , const Vector & _second ) { Vector temporary ( _first . size () ) ; for ( size_t index = 0; index < _first . size () ;++ index ) temporary [ index ] = _first [ index ] + _second [ index ]; return temporary ;

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Issues
large vectors: temporary becomes the bottleneck large vectors: sum will always be carried out entirely
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ExprTempl: Store Operations, not Data

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ExprTempl: Store Operations, not Data

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template < typename A , typename B > class sum { const A & left_ ; const B & right_ ; public : explicit sum ( const A & _left , const B & _right ) : left_ ( _left ) , right_ ( _right ) {} size_t size () const { return left_ . size () ; } double operator []( size_t _index ) const { return left_ [ index ] + right_ [ index ]; } };

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ExprTempl: Store Operations, not Data

2

template < typename A , typename B > class sum { const A & left_ ; const B & right_ ; public : explicit sum ( const A & _left , const B & _right ) : left_ ( _left ) , right_ ( _right ) {} size_t size () const { return left_ . size () ; } double operator []( size_t _index ) const { return left_ [ index ] + right_ [ index ]; } };
sum is cheap in terms of memory (2 references inside) stores and passes the operation of one element
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 18 / 28

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ExprTempl: Vector needs to be extended

class Vector { // ... template < typename T > Vector & operator =( const T & _in ) { resize ( _in . size () ) ; for ( size_t index = 0; index < _in . size () ;++ index )
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v_ [ index ] = _in [ index ]; return (* this ) ; } // ... }; added new assignment operator to Vector just an example of interfacing Vector with sum required for (c = a + b)
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ExprTempl: Harvesting the Fruit

Vector a ( N ) , b ( N ) , c ( N ) ; // fill Vector ( s ) a and b a + b; // 0 additions ( a + b ) [0]; // 1 addition c = a + b; // N additions

no memory overhead by temporaries achieved lazy evaluation (operation is conduction once it is really needed) intermediate abstraction has small memory foot print syntax is expressive and readable

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ExprTempl: Runtime Improvements

Performance of vector additions using dierent C++ implementations from [6].

There is more . . .
expression templates rst reported in 1995 [7] same scheme can be applicable in many more elds expression templates allow modular jump-in of accelerator code used by: Eigen [8], Blaze[9], MTL4[10] . . .

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Outline

1. Motivation 2. Performant Inheritance 3. Expressive And Fast Calculations 4. The Case of Eigen 5. Summary 6. Appendix 7. Literature

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Eigen: What is it?

for linear algebra, matrix and vector operations, numerical solvers and related algorithms header-only library complying C++98 standard performed for SSE 2/3/4, ARM NEON, and AltiVec instruction sets and non-vectorized implementations open source under Mozilla Public License v2 for details visit [8]

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Eigen: Vector Addition Again

Eigen :: VectorXf u ( size ) , v ( size ) , w ( size ) ; u = v + w;

Derived:typename

MatrixBase

CRTP

CRTP

BinaryOp:typename LHS:typename RHS:typename

VectorXf

CwiseBinaryOp

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Eigen: Vector Addition Real-Life

Eigen :: VectorXf u ( size ) , v ( size ) , w ( size ) ; u = v + w;

Derived:T OtherDerived:T

Derived:T OtherDerived:T

Derived:typename

MatrixBase
+operator=()

internal::assign_impl
+run(dst:Derived,other:OtherDerived)

internal::assign_selector
+run(dst:Derived,other:OtherDerived) CRTP CRTP

internal::pload

internal::padd

internal::pstore

BinaryOp:typename LHS:typename RHS:typename

VectorXf

CwiseBinaryOp

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Outline

1. Motivation 2. Performant Inheritance 3. Expressive And Fast Calculations 4. The Case of Eigen 5. Summary 6. Appendix 7. Literature

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Summary C++ template engine provides tools for lightweight abstractions CRTP can replace virtual inheritance at runtime expression templates reduce the need for temporaries and more revisit your code and wonder, what portions are compile time constants

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Summary C++ template engine provides tools for lightweight abstractions CRTP can replace virtual inheritance at runtime expression templates reduce the need for temporaries and more revisit your code and wonder, what portions are compile time constants
Tip 29

Write Code that Writes Code.

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Final Word

from [11]

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Final Word

from [11]

Thank you for your attention!

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Outline

1. Motivation 2. Performant Inheritance 3. Expressive And Fast Calculations 4. The Case of Eigen 5. Summary 6. Appendix 7. Literature

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Appendix: Templates Recap

template < typename T > T add ( const T & _first , const T & _second ) { return _first + _second ; } C++ templates processed by template engine before compilation into binary

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Appendix: Templates Recap

template < typename T > T add ( const T & _first , const T & _second ) { return _first + _second ; } C++ templates processed by template engine before compilation into binary templates and template engine form a Turing-complete programming language [12]

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Appendix: Templates Recap

template < typename T > T add ( const T & _first , const T & _second ) { return _first + _second ; } C++ templates processed by template engine before compilation into binary templates and template engine form a Turing-complete programming language [12] using C++ templates for Meta Programming: C++ Template Meta Programming

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Appendix: Factorial At Runtime

unsigned int runt ime_fa ctoria l ( unsigned int n ){ if ( n == 0) return 1; else return n * ru ntime_ factor ial (n -1) : }

If argument known at compile time, calculate it at compile time!

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Appendix: Factorial At Compile Time

template < size_t n > struct static_factorial { static const size_t value = n * static_factorial < n - 1 >:: value ; }; template <> struct static_factorial <0 > { static const size_t value = 1 ; };
Classical example from [13].

input parameters required at compile time (implies static constness)

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Appendix: Factorial At Compile Time

template < size_t n > struct static_factorial { static const size_t value = n * static_factorial < n - 1 >:: value ; }; template <> struct static_factorial <0 > { static const size_t value = 1 ; };
Classical example from [13].

input parameters required at compile time (implies static constness) result known at compile time already, no runtime investment

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Appendix: Factorial At Compile Time

template < size_t n > struct static_factorial { static const size_t value = n * static_factorial < n - 1 >:: value ; }; template <> struct static_factorial <0 > { static const size_t value = 1 ; };
Classical example from [13].

input parameters required at compile time (implies static constness) result known at compile time already, no runtime investment these days CPU are so fast, this example is more academic
P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 32 / 28

Appendix: VTable
clang -cc1 -fdump-record-layouts virtual_sizeof.cpp
*** Dumping AST Record Layout 0 | class Derived 0 | class AbstrBase (primary base) 0 | (AbstrBase vtable pointer) 0 | (AbstrBase vftable pointer) | [sizeof=8, dsize=8, align=8 | nvsize=8, nvalign=8]

clang -cc1 -fdump-record-layouts crtp_sizeof.cpp

*** Dumping AST Record Layout 0 | class CRTPDerived (empty) 0 | class CRTPBase<class CRTPDerived> (base) (empty) | [sizeof=1, dsize=0, align=1 | nvsize=1, nvalign=1]

Back to Virtual Inheritance Recap.

P. Steinbach (MPI CBG) LightAbstractions Dec 12nd, 2013 33 / 28

Appendix: Disclaimer

All images (except stated otherwise) in this presentation were taken from the OpenClipArt gallery and are subject to the public domain. See http://openclipart.org/share for more information on sharing terms.

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Outline

1. Motivation 2. Performant Inheritance 3. Expressive And Fast Calculations 4. The Case of Eigen 5. Summary 6. Appendix 7. Literature

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Literature
[1] [2] A. Hunt and D. Thomas, The Pragmatic Programmer. Addison and Wesley, 2000. R. Brun and F. Rademakers, Root - an object oriented data analysis framework, in Proceedings AIHENP96 Workshop, vol. A of Nucl. Inst. & Meth. in Phys. Res., pp. 8186, September 1996. http://root.cern.ch. J. O. Coplien, Curiously recurring template pattern, in C++ Report, pp. 2427, February 1995. A. Alexandrescu, Modern C++ Design: Generic Programming and Design Patterns Applied. Addison-Wesley, 2001. E. Bendersky, http://eli.thegreenplace.net/2013/12/05/the- cost- of- dynamic- virtual- calls- vs- static- crtp- dispatch- in- c/. interesting performance evalution of CRTP. 1 de, Expression templates revisited: A performance analysis of current methodologies, SIAM Journal K. Iglberger, G. Hager, J. Treibig, and U. RA 4 on Scientic Computing, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. C42C69, 2012. T. Veldhuizen, Expression templates, in C++ Report, vol. 5, pp. 2631, June 1995. Eigen. http://eigen.tuxfamily.org/index.php?title=Main_Page. C++ library of template headers for linear algebra, matrix and vector operations, numerical solvers and related algorithms. Blaze-lib. http://code.google.com/p/blaze- lib/.

[3] [4] [5] [6]

[7] [8] [9]

[10] Mtl4 - matrix template library. http://www.simunova.com/de/node/24. [11] K. Rocki, M. Burtscher, and R. Suda, The future of accelerator programming: Abstraction, performance or can we have both?, 2014. http://olab.is.s.u- tokyo.ac.jp/~kamil.rocki/pub.html. [12] Proving turing-completeness of c++ templates. http://matt.might.net/articles/c++- template- meta- programming- with-lambda- calculus/. [13] Template metaprogramming. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_metaprogramming. [14] http://talesofcpp.fusionfenix.com/post- 12/episode- eight- the- curious- case- of- the- recurring- template- pattern.

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