Jython is not a replacement for Python, it seems to be fairly limited. We would need the ability to run Python with all its libraries.
Thomas On Thu, Sep 15, 2016 at 11:25 PM, David Yan <da...@datatorrent.com> wrote: > On a very high level, we can build a Python framework in Apex by having a > Python binding on our high level API that generates Jython operators with > the business logic written by users in Python, along with existing > connectors. > > David > > On Sep 15, 2016 11:00 PM, "Chinmay Kolhatkar" <chin...@datatorrent.com> > wrote: > > > Strongly +1 on this. One thing that proves this is useful for Apex is > > hadoop streaming where python is used write map-reduce jobs. This not > only > > will increase the reach in development world but also would be appealing > to > > administrators to write an app as they are usually aware of python. > > > > > > Few suggestions (not in specific order): > > 1. As a part of supporting python execution in operator code, we should > > provide a complete lifecycle of an operator to be specified from python. > > > > 2. I would personally not worry about providing python binding for low > > level apex client APIs like addOperator, addStream etc... If one has to > do > > it, I think its best to use JAVA api as the most power of those low level > > APIs can be leveraged there. > > > > 3. For client APIs, I would rather suggest we focus on high level APIs > like > > apex stream API (malhar-stream). We should provide a complete python > > binding for them. Python is very useful when it comes to functional > > programming and Stream API provide exactly that. > > > > 4. Thinking very high level, I don't think we need any change in > apex-core > > for this. This could be another project in malhar itself. There are > python > > libraries like py4j or pyjnius or JPype which allows to access Java > objects > > from python. > > Basically, we just need to establish a right bridge betweeen java and > > python VM. We need to be thoughtful about performance as these bridges > > across programming languages are costly. > > > > 5. We need to decide on how the code execution will look like on this. > For > > eg., should a py file be an alternative to Application.java in the > package? > > This means, the starting point is apex cli i.e. java. Hence instead of > > finding classes implementing StreamingApplication, apexcli needs to find > py > > file which defines definition of DAG. > > OR should the flow start with "__main__" of python file and end up in > Java? > > > > 6. This might be too early, but it important to emphasis that we need to > > plan for writing examples and documentation for python binding. > > > > -Chinmay. > > > > > > > > On Fri, Sep 16, 2016 at 2:36 AM, Thomas Weise <t...@apache.org> wrote: > > > > > Hi, > > > > > > Python (not Jython) seems to be a popular language and frequently used > > for > > > data analysis, especially where flexibility matters. It has a > > comprehensive > > > library and it is generally considered low barrier to entry. I have > also > > > seen Python used in critical back-end components, although that's > > probably > > > not very common? > > > > > > I think Python support could potentially expand the user base for Apex. > > > There are 2 main areas that can be considered: > > > > > > 1) Support to execute Python code through an operator > > > 2) A client API that lets users construct pipelines in Python > > > > > > The former can exist without the latter. And it would enable users to > > > leverage existing code that otherwise would have to be rewritten in a > JVM > > > language. The engine could ship scripts/packages so they are > > automatically > > > distributed on the cluster. > > > > > > A useful client API probably requires back-end support for lambda > > functions > > > and more complex UDFs. > > > > > > Would be great to get some feedback, especially from those that have > > > experience with Python, on how an integration could potentially open up > > new > > > use cases for Apex. > > > > > > Thanks, > > > Thomas > > > > > >
