PEP: 574
Title: Pickle protocol 5 with out-of-band data
Author: Antoine Pitrou <solipsis@pitrou.net>
BDFL-Delegate: Alyssa Coghlan
Status: Final
Type: Standards Track
Created: 23-Mar-2018
Python-Version: 3.8
Post-History: 28-Mar-2018, 30-Apr-2019
Resolution: https://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2019-May/157284.html


Abstract
========

This PEP proposes to standardize a new pickle protocol version, and
accompanying APIs to take full advantage of it:

1. A new pickle protocol version (5) to cover the extra metadata needed
   for out-of-band data buffers.
2. A new ``PickleBuffer`` type for ``__reduce_ex__`` implementations
   to return out-of-band data buffers.
3. A new ``buffer_callback`` parameter when pickling, to handle out-of-band
   data buffers.
4. A new ``buffers`` parameter when unpickling to provide out-of-band data
   buffers.

The PEP guarantees unchanged behaviour for anyone not using the new APIs.


Rationale
=========

The pickle protocol was originally designed in 1995 for on-disk persistency
of arbitrary Python objects.  The performance of a 1995-era storage medium
probably made it irrelevant to focus on performance metrics such as
use of RAM bandwidth when copying temporary data before writing it to disk.

Nowadays the pickle protocol sees a growing use in applications where most
of the data isn't ever persisted to disk (or, when it is, it uses a portable
format instead of Python-specific).  Instead, pickle is being used to transmit
data and commands from one process to another, either on the same machine
or on multiple machines.  Those applications will sometimes deal with very
large data (such as Numpy arrays or Pandas dataframes) that need to be
transferred around.  For those applications, pickle is currently
wasteful as it imposes spurious memory copies of the data being serialized.

As a matter of fact, the standard ``multiprocessing`` module uses pickle
for serialization, and therefore also suffers from this problem when
sending large data to another process.

Third-party Python libraries, such as Dask [#dask]_, PyArrow [#pyarrow]_
and IPyParallel [#ipyparallel]_, have started implementing alternative
serialization schemes with the explicit goal of avoiding copies on large
data.  Implementing a new serialization scheme is difficult and often
leads to reduced generality (since many Python objects support pickle
but not the new serialization scheme).  Falling back on pickle for
unsupported types is an option, but then you get back the spurious
memory copies you wanted to avoid in the first place.  For example,
``dask`` is able to avoid memory copies for Numpy arrays and
built-in containers thereof (such as lists or dicts containing Numpy
arrays), but if a large Numpy array is an attribute of a user-defined
object, ``dask`` will serialize the user-defined object as a pickle
stream, leading to memory copies.

The common theme of these third-party serialization efforts is to generate
a stream of object metadata (which contains pickle-like information about
the objects being serialized) and a separate stream of zero-copy buffer
objects for the payloads of large objects.  Note that, in this scheme,
small objects such as ints, etc. can be dumped together with the metadata
stream.  Refinements can include opportunistic compression of large data
depending on its type and layout, like ``dask`` does.

This PEP aims to make ``pickle`` usable in a way where large data is handled
as a separate stream of zero-copy buffers, letting the application handle
those buffers optimally.


Example
=======

To keep the example simple and avoid requiring knowledge of third-party
libraries, we will focus here on a bytearray object (but the issue is
conceptually the same with more sophisticated objects such as Numpy arrays).
Like most objects, the bytearray object isn't immediately understood by
the pickle module and must therefore specify its decomposition scheme.

Here is how a bytearray object currently decomposes for pickling::

   >>> b.__reduce_ex__(4)
   (<class 'bytearray'>, (b'abc',), None)

This is because the ``bytearray.__reduce_ex__`` implementation reads
morally as follows::

   class bytearray:

      def __reduce_ex__(self, protocol):
         if protocol == 4:
            return type(self), bytes(self), None
         # Legacy code for earlier protocols omitted

In turn it produces the following pickle code::

   >>> pickletools.dis(pickletools.optimize(pickle.dumps(b, protocol=4)))
       0: \x80 PROTO      4
       2: \x95 FRAME      30
      11: \x8c SHORT_BINUNICODE 'builtins'
      21: \x8c SHORT_BINUNICODE 'bytearray'
      32: \x93 STACK_GLOBAL
      33: C    SHORT_BINBYTES b'abc'
      38: \x85 TUPLE1
      39: R    REDUCE
      40: .    STOP

(the call to ``pickletools.optimize`` above is only meant to make the
pickle stream more readable by removing the MEMOIZE opcodes)

We can notice several things about the bytearray's payload (the sequence
of bytes ``b'abc'``):

* ``bytearray.__reduce_ex__`` produces a first copy by instantiating a
  new bytes object from the bytearray's data.
* ``pickle.dumps`` produces a second copy when inserting the contents of
  that bytes object into the pickle stream, after the SHORT_BINBYTES opcode.
* Furthermore, when deserializing the pickle stream, a temporary bytes
  object is created when the SHORT_BINBYTES opcode is encountered (inducing
  a data copy).

What we really want is something like the following:

* ``bytearray.__reduce_ex__`` produces a *view* of the bytearray's data.
* ``pickle.dumps`` doesn't try to copy that data into the pickle stream
  but instead passes the buffer view to its caller (which can decide on the
  most efficient handling of that buffer).
* When deserializing, ``pickle.loads`` takes the pickle stream and the
  buffer view separately, and passes the buffer view directly to the
  bytearray constructor.

We see that several conditions are required for the above to work:

* ``__reduce__`` or ``__reduce_ex__`` must be able to return *something*
  that indicates a serializable no-copy buffer view.
* The pickle protocol must be able to represent references to such buffer
  views, instructing the unpickler that it may have to get the actual buffer
  out of band.
* The ``pickle.Pickler`` API must provide its caller with a way
  to receive such buffer views while serializing.
* The ``pickle.Unpickler`` API must similarly allow its caller to provide
  the buffer views required for deserialization.
* For compatibility, the pickle protocol must also be able to contain direct
  serializations of such buffer views, such that current uses of the ``pickle``
  API don't have to be modified if they are not concerned with memory copies.


Producer API
============

We are introducing a new type ``pickle.PickleBuffer`` which can be
instantiated from any buffer-supporting object, and is specifically meant
to be returned from ``__reduce__`` implementations::

   class bytearray:

      def __reduce_ex__(self, protocol):
         if protocol >= 5:
            return type(self), (PickleBuffer(self),), None
         # Legacy code for earlier protocols omitted

``PickleBuffer`` is a simple wrapper that doesn't have all the memoryview
semantics and functionality, but is specifically recognized by the ``pickle``
module if protocol 5 or higher is enabled.  It is an error to try to
serialize a ``PickleBuffer`` with pickle protocol version 4 or earlier.

Only the raw *data* of the ``PickleBuffer`` will be considered by the
``pickle`` module.  Any type-specific *metadata* (such as shapes or
datatype) must be returned separately by the type's ``__reduce__``
implementation, as is already the case.


PickleBuffer objects
--------------------

The ``PickleBuffer`` class supports a very simple Python API.  Its constructor
takes a single :pep:`3118`-compatible object.  ``PickleBuffer``
objects themselves support the buffer protocol, so consumers can
call ``memoryview(...)`` on them to get additional information
about the underlying buffer (such as the original type, shape, etc.).
In addition, ``PickleBuffer`` objects have the following methods:

``raw()``

   Return a memoryview of the raw memory bytes underlying the PickleBuffer,
   erasing any shape, strides and format information.  This is required to
   handle Fortran-contiguous buffers correctly in the pure Python pickle
   implementation.

``release()``

   Release the PickleBuffer's underlying buffer, making it unusable.

On the C side, a simple API will be provided to create and inspect
PickleBuffer objects:

``PyObject *PyPickleBuffer_FromObject(PyObject *obj)``

   Create a ``PickleBuffer`` object holding a view over the :pep:`3118`-compatible
   *obj*.

``PyPickleBuffer_Check(PyObject *obj)``

   Return whether *obj* is a ``PickleBuffer`` instance.

``const Py_buffer *PyPickleBuffer_GetBuffer(PyObject *picklebuf)``

   Return a pointer to the internal ``Py_buffer`` owned by the ``PickleBuffer``
   instance.  An exception is raised if the buffer is released.

``int PyPickleBuffer_Release(PyObject *picklebuf)``

   Release the ``PickleBuffer`` instance's underlying buffer.


Buffer requirements
-------------------

``PickleBuffer`` can wrap any kind of buffer, including non-contiguous
buffers.  However, it is required that ``__reduce__`` only returns a
contiguous ``PickleBuffer`` (*contiguity* here is meant in the :pep:`3118`
sense: either C-ordered or Fortran-ordered).  Non-contiguous buffers
will raise an error when pickled.

This restriction is primarily an ease-of-implementation issue for the
``pickle`` module but also other consumers of out-of-band buffers.
The simplest solution on the provider side is to return a contiguous
copy of a non-contiguous buffer; a sophisticated provider, though, may
decide instead to return a sequence of contiguous sub-buffers.


Consumer API
============

``pickle.Pickler.__init__`` and ``pickle.dumps`` are augmented with an additional
``buffer_callback`` parameter::

   class Pickler:
      def __init__(self, file, protocol=None, ..., buffer_callback=None):
         """
         If *buffer_callback* is None (the default), buffer views are
         serialized into *file* as part of the pickle stream.

         If *buffer_callback* is not None, then it can be called any number
         of times with a buffer view.  If the callback returns a false value
         (such as None), the given buffer is out-of-band; otherwise the
         buffer is serialized in-band, i.e. inside the pickle stream.

         The callback should arrange to store or transmit out-of-band buffers
         without changing their order.

         It is an error if *buffer_callback* is not None and *protocol* is
         None or smaller than 5.
         """

   def pickle.dumps(obj, protocol=None, *, ..., buffer_callback=None):
      """
      See above for *buffer_callback*.
      """

``pickle.Unpickler.__init__`` and ``pickle.loads`` are augmented with an
additional ``buffers`` parameter::

   class Unpickler:
      def __init__(file, *, ..., buffers=None):
         """
         If *buffers* is not None, it should be an iterable of buffer-enabled
         objects that is consumed each time the pickle stream references
         an out-of-band buffer view.  Such buffers have been given in order
         to the *buffer_callback* of a Pickler object.

         If *buffers* is None (the default), then the buffers are taken
         from the pickle stream, assuming they are serialized there.
         It is an error for *buffers* to be None if the pickle stream
         was produced with a non-None *buffer_callback*.
         """

   def pickle.loads(data, *, ..., buffers=None):
      """
      See above for *buffers*.
      """


Protocol changes
================

Three new opcodes are introduced:

* ``BYTEARRAY8`` creates a bytearray from the data following it in the pickle
  stream and pushes it on the stack (just like ``BINBYTES8`` does for bytes
  objects);
* ``NEXT_BUFFER`` fetches a buffer from the ``buffers`` iterable and pushes
  it on the stack.
* ``READONLY_BUFFER`` makes a readonly view of the top of the stack.

When pickling encounters a ``PickleBuffer``, that buffer can be considered
in-band or out-of-band depending on the following conditions:

* if no ``buffer_callback`` is given, the buffer is in-band;
* if a ``buffer_callback`` is given, it is called with the buffer.  If the
  callback returns a true value, the buffer is in-band; if the callback
  returns a false value, the buffer is out-of-band.

An in-band buffer is serialized as follows:

* If the buffer is writable, it is serialized into the pickle stream as if
  it were a ``bytearray`` object.
* If the buffer is readonly, it is serialized into the pickle stream as if
  it were a ``bytes`` object.

An out-of-band buffer is serialized as follows:

* If the buffer is writable, a ``NEXT_BUFFER`` opcode is appended to the
  pickle stream.
* If the buffer is readonly, a ``NEXT_BUFFER`` opcode is appended to the
  pickle stream, followed by a ``READONLY_BUFFER`` opcode.

The distinction between readonly and writable buffers is motivated below
(see "Mutability").


Side effects
============

Improved in-band performance
----------------------------

Even in-band pickling can be improved by returning a ``PickleBuffer``
instance from ``__reduce_ex__``, as one copy is avoided on the serialization
path [#arrow-pickle5-benchmark]_ [#numpy-pickle5-benchmark]_.


Caveats
=======

Mutability
----------

:pep:`3118` buffers can be readonly or writable.  Some objects,
such as Numpy arrays, need to be backed by a mutable buffer for full
operation.  Pickle consumers that use the ``buffer_callback`` and ``buffers``
arguments will have to be careful to recreate mutable buffers.  When doing
I/O, this implies using buffer-passing API variants such as ``readinto``
(which are also often preferable for performance).

Data sharing
------------

If you pickle and then unpickle an object in the same process, passing
out-of-band buffer views, then the unpickled object may be backed by the
same buffer as the original pickled object.

For example, it might be reasonable to implement reduction of a Numpy array
as follows (crucial metadata such as shapes is omitted for simplicity)::

   class ndarray:

      def __reduce_ex__(self, protocol):
         if protocol == 5:
            return numpy.frombuffer, (PickleBuffer(self), self.dtype)
         # Legacy code for earlier protocols omitted

Then simply passing the PickleBuffer around from ``dumps`` to ``loads``
will produce a new Numpy array sharing the same underlying memory as the
original Numpy object (and, incidentally, keeping it alive)::

   >>> import numpy as np
   >>> a = np.zeros(10)
   >>> a[0]
   0.0
   >>> buffers = []
   >>> data = pickle.dumps(a, protocol=5, buffer_callback=buffers.append)
   >>> b = pickle.loads(data, buffers=buffers)
   >>> b[0] = 42
   >>> a[0]
   42.0

This won't happen with the traditional ``pickle`` API (i.e. without passing
``buffers`` and ``buffer_callback`` parameters), because then the buffer view
is serialized inside the pickle stream with a copy.


Rejected alternatives
=====================

Using the existing persistent load interface
--------------------------------------------

The ``pickle`` persistence interface is a way of storing references to
designated objects in the pickle stream while handling their actual
serialization out of band.  For example, one might consider the following
for zero-copy serialization of bytearrays::

   class MyPickle(pickle.Pickler):

       def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
           super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
           self.buffers = []

       def persistent_id(self, obj):
           if type(obj) is not bytearray:
               return None
           else:
               index = len(self.buffers)
               self.buffers.append(obj)
               return ('bytearray', index)


   class MyUnpickle(pickle.Unpickler):

       def __init__(self, *args, buffers, **kwargs):
           super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
           self.buffers = buffers

       def persistent_load(self, pid):
           type_tag, index = pid
           if type_tag == 'bytearray':
               return self.buffers[index]
           else:
               assert 0  # unexpected type

This mechanism has two drawbacks:

* Each ``pickle`` consumer must reimplement ``Pickler`` and ``Unpickler``
  subclasses, with custom code for each type of interest.  Essentially,
  N pickle consumers end up each implementing custom code for M producers.
  This is difficult (especially for sophisticated types such as Numpy
  arrays) and poorly scalable.

* Each object encountered by the pickle module (even simple built-in objects
  such as ints and strings) triggers a call to the user's ``persistent_id()``
  method, leading to a possible performance drop compared to nominal.

  (the Python 2 ``cPickle`` module supported an undocumented
  ``inst_persistent_id()`` hook that was only called on non-built-in types;
  it was added in 1997 in order to alleviate the performance issue of
  calling ``persistent_id``, presumably at ZODB's request)

Passing a sequence of buffers in ``buffer_callback``
----------------------------------------------------

By passing a sequence of buffers, rather than a single buffer, we would
potentially save on function call overhead in case a large number
of buffers are produced during serialization.  This would need
additional support in the Pickler to save buffers before calling the
callback.  However, it would also prevent the buffer callback from returning
a boolean to indicate whether a buffer is to be serialized in-band or
out-of-band.

We consider that having a large number of buffers to serialize is an
unlikely case, and decided to pass a single buffer to the buffer callback.

Allow serializing a ``PickleBuffer`` in protocol 4 and earlier
--------------------------------------------------------------

If we were to allow serializing a ``PickleBuffer`` in protocols 4 and earlier,
it would actually make a supplementary memory copy when the buffer is mutable.
Indeed, a mutable ``PickleBuffer`` would serialize as a bytearray object
in those protocols (that is a first copy), and serializing the bytearray
object would call ``bytearray.__reduce_ex__`` which returns a bytes object
(that is a second copy).

To prevent ``__reduce__`` implementors from introducing involuntary
performance regressions, we decided to reject ``PickleBuffer`` when
the protocol is smaller than 5.  This forces implementors to switch to
``__reduce_ex__`` and implement protocol-dependent serialization, taking
advantage of the best path for each protocol (or at least treat protocol
5 and upwards separately from protocols 4 and downwards).


Implementation
==============

The PEP was initially implemented in the author's GitHub fork [#pickle5-git]_.
It was later merged into Python 3.8 [#pickle5-pr]_.

A backport for Python 3.6 and 3.7 is downloadable from PyPI
[#pickle5-pypi]_.

Support for pickle protocol 5 and out-of-band buffers was added to Numpy
[#numpy-pickle5-pr]_.

Support for pickle protocol 5 and out-of-band buffers was added to the Apache
Arrow Python bindings [#arrow-pickle5-pr]_.


Related work
============

Dask.distributed implements a custom zero-copy serialization with fallback
to pickle [#dask-serialization]_.

PyArrow implements zero-copy component-based serialization for a few
selected types [#pyarrow-serialization]_.

:pep:`554` proposes hosting multiple interpreters in a single process, with
provisions for transferring buffers between interpreters as a communication
scheme.


Acknowledgements
================

Thanks to the following people for early feedback: Alyssa Coghlan, Olivier
Grisel, Stefan Krah, MinRK, Matt Rocklin, Eric Snow.

Thanks to Pierre Glaser and Olivier Grisel for experimenting with the
implementation.


References
==========

.. [#dask] Dask.distributed -- A lightweight library for distributed computing
   in Python
   https://distributed.readthedocs.io/

.. [#dask-serialization] Dask.distributed custom serialization
   https://distributed.readthedocs.io/en/latest/serialization.html

.. [#ipyparallel] IPyParallel -- Using IPython for parallel computing
   https://ipyparallel.readthedocs.io/

.. [#pyarrow] PyArrow -- A cross-language development platform for in-memory data
   https://arrow.apache.org/docs/python/

.. [#pyarrow-serialization] PyArrow IPC and component-based serialization
   https://arrow.apache.org/docs/python/ipc.html#component-based-serialization

.. [#pickle5-git] ``pickle5`` branch on GitHub
   https://github.com/pitrou/cpython/tree/pickle5

.. [#pickle5-pr] PEP 574 Pull Request on GitHub
   https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/7076

.. [#pickle5-pypi] ``pickle5`` project on PyPI
   https://pypi.org/project/pickle5/

.. [#arrow-pickle5-pr] Pull request: Experimental zero-copy pickling in Apache Arrow
   https://github.com/apache/arrow/pull/2161

.. [#arrow-pickle5-benchmark] Benchmark zero-copy pickling in Apache Arrow
   https://github.com/apache/arrow/pull/2161#issuecomment-407859213

.. [#numpy-pickle5-pr] Pull request: Support pickle protocol 5 in Numpy
   https://github.com/numpy/numpy/pull/12011

.. [#numpy-pickle5-benchmark] Benchmark pickling Numpy arrays with different pickle protocols
   https://github.com/numpy/numpy/issues/11161#issuecomment-424035962


Copyright
=========

This document has been placed into the public domain.
