Tensor shapes in Pyro 0.2¶

This tutorial introduces Pyro’s organization of tensor dimensions. Before starting, you should familiarize yourself with PyTorch broadcasting semantics.

Summary:¶

• While you are learning or debugging, set pyro.enable_validation(True).
• Tensors broadcast by aligning on the right: torch.ones(3,4,5) + torch.ones(5).
• Distribution .sample().shape == batch_shape + event_shape.
• Distribution .log_prob(x).shape == batch_shape (but not event_shape!).
• Use my_dist.expand_by([2,3,4]) to draw a batch of samples.
• Use my_dist.independent(1) to declare a dimension as dependent.
• Use with pyro.iarange('name', size): to declare a dimension as independent.
• All dimensions must be declared either dependent or independent.
• Try to support batching on the left. This lets Pyro auto-parallelize.
• use negative indices like x.sum(-1) rather than x.sum(2)
• use ellipsis notation like pixel = image[..., i, j]

In [1]:

import os
import torch
import pyro
from torch.distributions import constraints
from pyro.distributions import Bernoulli, Categorical, MultivariateNormal, Normal
from pyro.infer import Trace_ELBO, TraceEnum_ELBO, config_enumerate

smoke_test = ('CI' in os.environ)
pyro.enable_validation(True)    # <---- This is always a good idea!

# We'll ue this helper to check our models are correct.
def test_model(model, guide, loss):
pyro.clear_param_store()
loss.loss(model, guide)


Distributions shapes: batch_shape and event_shape¶

PyTorch Tensors have a single .shape attribute, but Distributions have two shape attributions with special meaning: .batch_shape and .event_shape. These two combine to define the total shape of a sample

x = d.sample()
assert x.shape == d.batch_shape + d.event_shape


Indices over .batch_shape denote independent random variables, whereas indices over .event_shape denote dependent random variables. Because the dependent random variables define probability together, the .log_prob() method only produces a single number for each event of shape .event_shape. Thus the total shape of .log_prob() is .batch_shape:

assert d.log_prob(x).shape == d.batch_shape


Note that the Distribution.sample() method also takes a sample_shape parameter that indexes over independent identically distributed (iid) random varables, so that

x2 = d.sample(sample_shape)
assert x2.shape == sample_shape + batch_shape + event_shape


In summary

      |      iid     | independent | dependent
------+--------------+-------------+------------
shape = sample_shape + batch_shape + event_shape


For example univariate distributions have empty event shape (because each number is an independent event). Distributions over vectors like MultivariateNormal have len(event_shape) == 1. Distributions over matrices like InverseWishart have len(event_shape) == 2.

Examples¶

The simplest distribution shape is a single univariate distribution.

In [2]:

d = Bernoulli(0.5)
assert d.batch_shape == ()
assert d.event_shape == ()
x = d.sample()
assert x.shape == ()
assert d.log_prob(x).shape == ()


Distributions can be batched by passing in batched parameters.

In [3]:

d = Bernoulli(0.5 * torch.ones(3,4))
assert d.batch_shape == (3, 4)
assert d.event_shape == ()
x = d.sample()
assert x.shape == (3, 4)
assert d.log_prob(x).shape == (3, 4)


Another way to batch distributions is via the .expand_by() method. This only works if parameters are identical along the leftmost dimensions.

In [4]:

d = Bernoulli(torch.tensor([0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4])).expand_by([3])
assert d.batch_shape == (3, 4)
assert d.event_shape == ()
x = d.sample()
assert x.shape == (3, 4)
assert d.log_prob(x).shape == (3, 4)


Multivariate distributions have nonempty .event_shape. For these distributions, the shapes of .sample() and .log_prob(x) differ:

In [5]:

d = MultivariateNormal(torch.zeros(3), torch.eye(3, 3))
assert d.batch_shape == ()
assert d.event_shape == (3,)
x = d.sample()
assert x.shape == (3,)            # == batch_shape + event_shape
assert d.log_prob(x).shape == ()  # == batch_shape


Reshaping distributions¶

In Pyro you can treat a univariate distribution as multivariate by calling the .independent(_) property.

In [6]:

d = Bernoulli(0.5 * torch.ones(3,4)).independent(1)
assert d.batch_shape == (3,)
assert d.event_shape == (4,)
x = d.sample()
assert x.shape == (3, 4)
assert d.log_prob(x).shape == (3,)


While you work with Pyro programs, keep in mind that samples have shape batch_shape + event_shape, whereas .log_prob(x) values have shape batch_shape. You’ll need to ensure that batch_shape is carefully controlled by either trimming it down with .independent(n) or by declaring dimensions as independent via pyro.iarange.

It is always safe to assume dependence¶

Often in Pyro we’ll declare some dimensions as dependent even though they are in fact independent, e.g.

pyro.sample("x", dist.Normal(0, 1).expand_by([10]).independent(1))


This is useful for two reasons: First it allows us to easily swap in a MultivariateNormal distribution later. Second it simplifies the code a bit since we don’t need an iarange (see below) as in

with pyro.iarange("x_iarange", 10):
pyro.sample("x", dist.Normal(0, 1).expand_by([10]))


The difference between these two versions is that the second version with iarange informs Pyro that it can make use of independence information when estimating gradients, whereas in the first version Pyro must assume they are dependent (even though the normals are in fact independent). This is analogous to d-separation in graphical models: it is always safe to add edges and assume variables may be dependent (i.e. to widen the model class), but it is unsafe to assume independence when variables are actually dependent (i.e. narrowing the model class so the true model lies outside of the class, as in mean field). In practice Pyro’s SVI inference algorithm uses reparameterized gradient estimators for Normal distributions so both gradient estimators have the same performance.

Declaring independent dims with iarange¶

Pyro models can use the context manager pyro.iarange to declare that certain batch dimensions are independent. Inference algorithms can then take advantage of this independence to e.g. construct lower variance gradient estimators or to enumerate in linear space rather than exponential space. An example of an independent dimension is the index over data in a minibatch: each datum should be independent of all others.

The simplest way to declare a dimension as independent is to declare the rightmost batch dimension as independent via a simple

with pyro.iarange("my_iarange"):
# within this context, batch dimension -1 is independent


We recommend always providing an optional size argument to aid in debugging shapes

with pyro.iarange("my_iarange", len(my_data)):
# within this context, batch dimension -1 is independent


Starting with Pyro 0.2 you can additionally nest iaranges, e.g. if you have per-pixel independence:

with pyro.iarange("x_axis", 320):
# within this context, batch dimension -1 is independent
with pyro.iarange("y_axis", 200):
# within this context, batch dimensions -2 and -1 are independent


Note that we always count from the right by using negative indices like -2, -1.

Finally if you want to mix and match iaranges for e.g. noise that depends only on x, some noise that depends only on y, and some noise that depends on both, you can declare multiple iaranges and use them as reusable context managers. In this case Pyro cannot automatically allocate a dimension, so you need to provide a dim argument (again counting from the right):

x_axis = pyro.iarange("x_axis", 3, dim=-2)
y_axis = pyro.iarange("y_axis", 2, dim=-3)
with x_axis:
# within this context, batch dimension -2 is independent
with y_axis:
# within this context, batch dimension -3 is independent
with x_axis, y_axis:
# within this context, batch dimensions -3 and -2 are independent


Let’s take a closer look at batch sizes within iaranges.

In [7]:

def model1():
a = pyro.sample("a", Normal(0, 1))
b = pyro.sample("b", Normal(torch.zeros(2), 1).independent(1))
with pyro.iarange("c_iarange", 2):
c = pyro.sample("c", Normal(torch.zeros(2), 1))
with pyro.iarange("d_iarange", 3):
d = pyro.sample("d", Normal(torch.zeros(3,4,5), 1).independent(2))
assert a.shape == ()       # batch_shape == ()     event_shape == ()
assert b.shape == (2,)     # batch_shape == ()     event_shape == (2,)
assert c.shape == (2,)     # batch_shape == (2,)   event_sahpe == ()
assert d.shape == (3,4,5)  # batch_shape == (3,)   event_shape == (4,5)

x_axis = pyro.iarange("x_axis", 3, dim=-2)
y_axis = pyro.iarange("y_axis", 2, dim=-3)
with x_axis:
x = pyro.sample("x", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([3, 1]))
with y_axis:
y = pyro.sample("y", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2, 1, 1]))
with x_axis, y_axis:
xy = pyro.sample("xy", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2, 3, 1]))
z = pyro.sample("z", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2, 3, 1, 5]).independent(1))
assert x.shape == (3, 1)        # batch_shape == (3,1)     event_shape == ()
assert y.shape == (2, 1, 1)     # batch_shape == (2,1,1)   event_shape == ()
assert xy.shape == (2, 3, 1)    # batch_shape == (2,3,1)   event_shape == ()
assert z.shape == (2, 3, 1, 5)  # batch_shape == (2,3,1)   event_shape == (5,)

test_model(model1, model1, Trace_ELBO())


It is helpful to visualize the .shapes of each sample site by aligning them at the boundary between batch_shape and event_shape: dimensions to the right will be summed out in .log_prob() and dimensions to the left will remain.

batch dims | event dims
-----------+-----------
|        a = sample("a", Normal(0, 1))
|2       b = sample("b", Normal(zeros(2), 1)
|                        .independent(1)
|        with iarange("c", 2):
2|            c = sample("c", Normal(zeros(2), 1))
|        with iarange("d", 3):
3|4 5         d = sample("d", Normal(zeros(3,4,5), 1)
|                       .independent(2)
|
|        x_axis = iarange("x", 3, dim=-2)
|        y_axis = iarange("y", 2, dim=-3)
|        with x_axis:
3 1|            x = sample("x", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([3, 1]))
|        with y_axis:
2 1 1|            y = sample("y", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2, 1, 1]))
|        with x_axis, y_axis:
2 3 1|            xy = sample("xy", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2, 3, 1]))
2 3 1|5           z = sample("z", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2, 3, 1, 5])
|                       .independent(1))


As an exercise, try to tabulate the shapes of sample sites in one of your own programs.

Subsampling tensors inside an iarange¶

One of the main uses of iarange is to subsample data. This is possible within an iarange because data are independent, so the expected value of the loss on, say, half the data should be half the expected loss on the full data.

To subsample data, you need to inform Pyro of both the original data size and the subsample size; Pyro will then choose a random subset of data and yield the set of indices.

In [8]:

data = torch.arange(100)

def model2():
mean = pyro.param("mean", torch.zeros(len(data)))
with pyro.iarange("data", len(data), subsample_size=10) as ind:
assert len(ind) == 10    # ind is a LongTensor that indexes the subsample.
batch = data[ind]        # Select a minibatch of data.
mean_batch = mean[ind]   # Take care to select the relevant per-datum parameters.
# Do stuff with batch:
x = pyro.sample("x", Normal(mean_batch, 1), obs=batch)
assert len(x) == 10

test_model(model2, guide=lambda: None, loss=Trace_ELBO())


Pyro 0.2 introduces the ability to enumerate discrete latent variables in parallel. This can significantly reduce the variance of gradient estimators when learning a posterior via SVI.

To use discrete enumeration, Pyro needs to allocate tensor dimension that it can use for enumeration. To avoid conflicting with other dimensions that we want to use for iaranges, we need to declare a budget of the maximum number of tensor dimensions we’ll use. This budget is called max_iarange_nesting and is an argument to SVI (the argument is simply passed through to TraceEnum_ELBO).

To understand max_iarange_nesting and how Pyro allocates dimensions for enumeration, let’s revisit model1() from above. This time we’ll map out three types of dimensions: enumeration dimensions on the left (Pyro takes control of these), batch dimensions in the middle, and event dimensions on the right.

      max_iarange_nesting = 3
|<--->|
enumeration|batch|event
-----------+-----+-----
|. . .|      a = sample("a", Normal(0, 1))
|. . .|2     b = sample("b", Normal(zeros(2), 1)
|     |                      .independent(1))
|     |      with iarange("c", 2):
|. . 2|          c = sample("c", Normal(zeros(2), 1))
|     |      with iarange("d", 3):
|. . 3|4 5       d = sample("d", Normal(zeros(3,4,5), 1)
|     |                     .independent(2))
|     |
|     |      x_axis = iarange("x", 3, dim=-2)
|     |      y_axis = iarange("y", 2, dim=-3)
|     |      with x_axis:
|. 3 1|          x = sample("x", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([3,1]))
|     |      with y_axis:
|2 1 1|          y = sample("y", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2,1,1]))
|     |      with x_axis, y_axis:
|2 3 1|          xy = sample("xy", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2,3,1]))
|2 3 1|5         z = sample("z", Normal(0, 1).expand_by([2,3,1,5]))
|     |                     .independent(1))


Note that it is safe to overprovision max_iarange_nesting=4 but we cannot underprovision max_iarange_nesting=2 (or Pyro will error). Let’s see how this works in practice.

In [9]:

@config_enumerate(default="parallel")
def model3():
p = pyro.param("p", torch.arange(6) / 6)
locs = pyro.param("locs", torch.tensor([-1., 1.]))

a = pyro.sample("a", Categorical(torch.ones(6) / 6))
b = pyro.sample("b", Bernoulli(p[a]))  # Note this depends on a.
with pyro.iarange("c_iarange", 4):
c = pyro.sample("c", Bernoulli(0.3).expand_by([4]))
with pyro.iarange("d_iarange", 5):
d = pyro.sample("d", Bernoulli(0.4).expand_by([5,4]))
e_loc = locs[d.long()].unsqueeze(-1)
e_scale = torch.arange(1, 8)
e = pyro.sample("e", Normal(e_loc, e_scale)
.independent(1))  # Note this depends on d.

#                   enumerated|batch|event dims
assert a.shape == (         6, 1, 1   )  # Six enumerated values of the Categorical.
assert b.shape == (      2, 6, 1, 1   )  # 2 enumerated Bernoullis x 6 Categoricals.
assert c.shape == (   2, 1, 1, 1, 4   )  # Only 2 Bernoullis; does not depend on a or b.
assert d.shape == (2, 1, 1, 1, 5, 4   )  # Only two Bernoullis.
assert e.shape == (2, 1, 1, 1, 5, 4, 7)  # This is sampled and depends on d.

assert e_loc.shape   == (2, 1, 1, 1, 5, 4, 1,)
assert e_scale.shape == (                  7,)

test_model(model3, model3, TraceEnum_ELBO(max_iarange_nesting=2))


Let’s take a closer look at those dimensions. First note that Pyro allocates enumeration dims starting from the right at max_iarange_nesting: Pyro allocates dim -3 to enumerate a, then dim -4 to enumerate b, then dim -5 to enumerate c, and finally dim -6 to enumerate d. Next note that variables only have extent (size > 1) in dimensions they depend on. This helps keep tensors small and computation cheap. We can draw a similar map of the tensor dimensions:

     max_iarange_nesting = 2
|<->|
enumeration batch event
------------|---|-----
6|1 1|     a = pyro.sample("a", Categorical(torch.ones(6) / 6))
2 1|1 1|     b = pyro.sample("b", Bernoulli(p[a]))
|   |     with pyro.iarange("c_iarange", 4):
2 1 1|1 4|         c = pyro.sample("c", Bernoulli(0.3).expand_by([4]))
|   |         with pyro.iarange("d_iarange", 5):
2 1 1 1|5 4|             d = pyro.sample("d", Bernoulli(0.4).expand_by([5,4]))
2 1 1 1|5 4|1            e_loc = locs[d.long()].unsqueeze(-1)
|   |7            e_scale = torch.arange(1, 8)
2 1 1 1|5 4|7            e = pyro.sample("e", Normal(e_loc, e_scale)
|   |                             .independent(1))


Writing parallelizable code¶

It can be tricky to write Pyro models that correctly handle parallelized sample sites. Two tricks help: broadcasting and ellipsis slicing. Let’s look at a contrived model to see how these work in practice. Our aim is to write a model that works both with and without enumeration.

In [10]:

width = 8
height = 10
sparse_pixels = torch.LongTensor([[3, 2], [3, 5], [3, 9], [7, 1]])
enumerated = None  # set to either True or False below

def fun(observe):
p_x = pyro.param("p_x", torch.tensor(0.1), constraint=constraints.unit_interval)
p_y = pyro.param("p_y", torch.tensor(0.1), constraint=constraints.unit_interval)
x_axis = pyro.iarange('x_axis', width, dim=-2)
y_axis = pyro.iarange('y_axis', height, dim=-1)

# Note that the shapes of these sites depend on whether Pyro is enumerating.
with x_axis:
x_active = pyro.sample("x_active", Bernoulli(p_x).expand_by([width, 1]))
with y_axis:
y_active = pyro.sample("y_active", Bernoulli(p_y).expand_by([height]))
if enumerated:
assert x_active.shape  == (2, width, 1)
assert y_active.shape  == (2, 1, 1, height)
else:
assert x_active.shape  == (width, 1)
assert y_active.shape  == (height,)

# The first trick is to broadcast. This works with or without enumeration.
p = 0.1 + 0.5 * x_active * y_active
if enumerated:
assert p.shape == (2, 2, width, height)
else:
assert p.shape == (width, height)

# The second trick is to index using ellipsis slicing.
# This allows Pyro to add arbitrary dimensions on the left.
dense_pixels = torch.zeros_like(p)
for x, y in sparse_pixels:
dense_pixels[..., x, y] = 1
if enumerated:
assert dense_pixels.shape == (2, 2, width, height)
else:
assert dense_pixels.shape == (width, height)

with x_axis, y_axis:
if observe:
pyro.sample("pixels", Bernoulli(p), obs=dense_pixels)

def model4():
fun(observe=True)

@config_enumerate(default="parallel")
def guide4():
fun(observe=False)

# Test without enumeration.
enumerated = False
test_model(model4, guide4, Trace_ELBO())

# Test with enumeration.
enumerated = True
test_model(model4, guide4, TraceEnum_ELBO(max_iarange_nesting=2))