178 lines
6.4 KiB
Markdown
178 lines
6.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: default
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title: "Batch"
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parent: "Core Abstraction"
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nav_order: 4
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---
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# Batch
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**Batch** makes it easier to handle large inputs in one Node or **rerun** a Flow multiple times. Example use cases:
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- **Chunk-based** processing (e.g., splitting large texts).
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- **Iterative** processing over lists of input items (e.g., user queries, files, URLs).
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## 1. BatchNode
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A **BatchNode** extends `Node` but changes `prep()` and `exec()`:
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- **`prep(shared)`**: returns an **iterable** (e.g., list, generator).
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- **`exec(item)`**: called **once** per item in that iterable.
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- **`post(shared, prep_res, exec_res_list)`**: after all items are processed, receives a **list** of results (`exec_res_list`) and returns an **Action**.
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### Example: Summarize a Large File
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```python
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class MapSummaries(BatchNode):
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def prep(self, shared):
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# Suppose we have a big file; chunk it
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content = shared["data"]
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chunk_size = 10000
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chunks = [content[i:i+chunk_size] for i in range(0, len(content), chunk_size)]
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return chunks
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def exec(self, chunk):
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prompt = f"Summarize this chunk in 10 words: {chunk}"
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summary = call_llm(prompt)
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return summary
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def post(self, shared, prep_res, exec_res_list):
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combined = "\n".join(exec_res_list)
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shared["summary"] = combined
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return "default"
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map_summaries = MapSummaries()
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flow = Flow(start=map_summaries)
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flow.run(shared)
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```
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---
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## 2. BatchFlow
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A **BatchFlow** runs a **Flow** multiple times, each time with different `params`. Think of it as a loop that replays the Flow for each parameter set.
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### Key Differences from BatchNode
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**Important**: Unlike BatchNode, which processes items and modifies the shared store:
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1. BatchFlow returns **parameters to pass to the child Flow**, not data to process
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2. These parameters are accessed in child nodes via `self.params`, not from the shared store
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3. Each child Flow runs independently with a different set of parameters
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4. Child nodes can be regular Nodes, not BatchNodes (the batching happens at the Flow level)
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### Example: Summarize Many Files
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```python
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class SummarizeAllFiles(BatchFlow):
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def prep(self, shared):
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# IMPORTANT: Return a list of param dictionaries (not data for processing)
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filenames = list(shared["data"].keys()) # e.g., ["file1.txt", "file2.txt", ...]
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return [{"filename": fn} for fn in filenames]
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# Child node that accesses filename from params, not shared store
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class LoadFile(Node):
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def prep(self, shared):
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# Access filename from params (not from shared)
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filename = self.params["filename"] # Important! Use self.params, not shared
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return filename
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def exec(self, filename):
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with open(filename, 'r') as f:
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return f.read()
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def post(self, shared, prep_res, exec_res):
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# Store file content in shared
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shared["current_file_content"] = exec_res
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return "default"
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# Summarize node that works on the currently loaded file
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class Summarize(Node):
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def prep(self, shared):
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return shared["current_file_content"]
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def exec(self, content):
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prompt = f"Summarize this file in 50 words: {content}"
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return call_llm(prompt)
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def post(self, shared, prep_res, exec_res):
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# Store summary in shared, indexed by current filename
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filename = self.params["filename"] # Again, using params
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if "summaries" not in shared:
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shared["summaries"] = {}
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shared["summaries"][filename] = exec_res
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return "default"
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# Create a per-file flow
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load_file = LoadFile()
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summarize = Summarize()
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load_file >> summarize
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summarize_file = Flow(start=load_file)
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# Wrap in a BatchFlow to process all files
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summarize_all_files = SummarizeAllFiles(start=summarize_file)
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summarize_all_files.run(shared)
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```
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### Under the Hood
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1. `prep(shared)` in the BatchFlow returns a list of param dicts—e.g., `[{"filename": "file1.txt"}, {"filename": "file2.txt"}, ...]`.
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2. The **BatchFlow** loops through each dict. For each one:
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- It merges the dict with the BatchFlow's own `params` (if any): `{**batch_flow.params, **dict_from_prep}`
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- It calls `flow.run(shared)` using the merged parameters
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- **IMPORTANT**: These parameters are passed to the child Flow's nodes via `self.params`, NOT via the shared store
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3. This means the sub-Flow is run **repeatedly**, once for every param dict, with each node in the flow accessing the parameters via `self.params`.
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---
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## 3. Nested or Multi-Level Batches
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You can nest a **BatchFlow** in another **BatchFlow**. For instance:
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- **Outer** batch: returns a list of directory param dicts (e.g., `{"directory": "/pathA"}`, `{"directory": "/pathB"}`, ...).
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- **Inner** batch: returning a list of per-file param dicts.
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At each level, **BatchFlow** merges its own param dict with the parent’s. By the time you reach the **innermost** node, the final `params` is the merged result of **all** parents in the chain. This way, a nested structure can keep track of the entire context (e.g., directory + file name) at once.
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```python
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class FileBatchFlow(BatchFlow):
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def prep(self, shared):
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# Access directory from params (set by parent)
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directory = self.params["directory"]
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# e.g., files = ["file1.txt", "file2.txt", ...]
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files = [f for f in os.listdir(directory) if f.endswith(".txt")]
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return [{"filename": f} for f in files]
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class DirectoryBatchFlow(BatchFlow):
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def prep(self, shared):
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directories = [ "/path/to/dirA", "/path/to/dirB"]
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return [{"directory": d} for d in directories]
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# The actual processing node
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class ProcessFile(Node):
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def prep(self, shared):
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# Access both directory and filename from params
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directory = self.params["directory"] # From outer batch
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filename = self.params["filename"] # From inner batch
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full_path = os.path.join(directory, filename)
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return full_path
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def exec(self, full_path):
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# Process the file...
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return f"Processed {full_path}"
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def post(self, shared, prep_res, exec_res):
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# Store results, perhaps indexed by path
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if "results" not in shared:
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shared["results"] = {}
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shared["results"][prep_res] = exec_res
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return "default"
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# Set up the nested batch structure
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process_node = ProcessFile()
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inner_flow = FileBatchFlow(start=process_node)
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outer_flow = DirectoryBatchFlow(start=inner_flow)
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# Run it
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outer_flow.run(shared)
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```
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