On Tue, 7 Oct 2014 10:23:21 +0100
"Garth N. Wells" <[email protected]> wrote:

> 
> On 6 Oct 2014, at 16:38, Martin Sandve Alnæs <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> 
> > I think this is the best solution:
> > 
> > 1) Require the user to close file objects deterministically.
> > Relying on the del operator is not deterministic, we need to support
> > .close() and/or __enter__/__exit__ for the with statement in dolfin.
> > 
> 
> Sounds good. We can print a warning message from the File object
> destructors if a file is not closed (this can later become an error).

Good idea, but maybe warning could be issued from __del__ operator if
object was not properly destroyed/closed. In C++ layer everything is OK.

Maybe we should also check how petsc4py deals with the issue and get
eventually inspired.

Jan

> 
> > 2) Recommend users to throw in some gc.collect() calls in their
> > code if objects go out of scope in their code. This doesn't seem to
> > be a big problem, but it's a lingering non-deterministic mpi
> > deadlock waiting to happen and very hard to debug.
> > 
> 
> What about insisting that objects that require collective calls
> during destruction must have a collective ‘clear’ or ‘destroy'
> function that cleans up the object.
> 
> Related to this discussion, we really need to to starting marking
> (logically) collective functions in the docstrings.
> 
> Garth
> 
> > Martin
> > 
> > 
> > On 6 October 2014 15:05, Martin Sandve Alnæs <[email protected]>
> > wrote: Yes. The difference is that mpi initialization / destruction
> > happens at beginning / end of the process while the destructors
> > happen all the time anywhere. I think that makes this a harder
> > problem to solve.
> > 
> > Anyway I was replying to "would it help if MPI is initialised
> > explicitly in the setup" and the answer is still no because mpi
> > init is not the problem in the tests, although it is of similar
> > nature.
> > 
> > I'm pondering if its possible (if necessary) to add a
> > dolfin.mpi_gc() function and overload __del__ in some classes to
> > handle this deterministically.
> > 
> > 6. okt. 2014 14:54 skrev "Garth N. Wells" <[email protected]>
> > følgende:
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Mon, 6 Oct, 2014 at 1:10 PM, Martin Sandve Alnæs
> > <[email protected]> wrote: MPI initialization has nothing to do
> > with the test problems. The problem is the destructors of objects.
> > It is temporarily solved by calling gc collect in pytest fixtures.
> > 
> > 
> > The core problem is the same. The problem I describe occurs when
> > the SubSystemsManager singleton that controls MPI intialisation is
> > destroyed (and finalises MPI) before a PETSc object is destroyed.
> > It is an issue of destruction order.
> > 
> > Garth
> > 
> > I think we should implement the with statement pattern for all file
> > types in dolfin to allow scope management.
> > 
> > If vectors _do_ call mpi in destructors that's a problem for
> > nontrivial dolfin python programs.
> > 
> > 6. okt. 2014 13:53 skrev "Garth N. Wells" <[email protected]>
> > følgende:
> > 
> > 
> > On Mon, 6 Oct, 2014 at 12:32 PM, Jan Blechta
> > <[email protected]> wrote: On Mon, 06 Oct 2014 11:53:58
> > +0100 "Garth N. Wells" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > 
> >  On Mon, 6 Oct, 2014 at 11:23 AM, Martin Sandve Alnæs
> >  <[email protected]> wrote:
> >  > All collective destructors must be managed explicitly in python,
> >  > preferably via with statement. Are there any apart from file
> >  > objects? Vectors? Matrices? Meshes?
> >  >
> > 
> >  Off the top of my head I can't think of any cases, apart from IO,
> > in which a (collective) MPI call needs to be made inside a
> > destructor. For IO, we could insist on a user closing or flushing a
> > file explicitly. We cannot guarantee that 3rd party linear algebra
> >  backends do not call MPI when objects are destroyed.
> > 
> > VecDestroy and MatDestroy (called by PESTcVector and PETScBaseMatrix
> > destructors) are claimed to be collective by PETSc doc:
> > http://www.mcs.anl.gov/petsc/petsc-current/docs/manualpages/Vec/VecDestroy.html
> > http://www.mcs.anl.gov/petsc/petsc-current/docs/manualpages/Mat/MatDestroy.html
> > 
> > Yes, they are collective but don't necessarily make MPI calls. My
> > understanding is that 'collective' is not the issue but whether or
> > not MPI calls are made from a destructor. Some functions will only
> > make sense  if called collectively (e.g., VecDestroy), but might
> > not make collective MPI calls.
> > 
> > For the tests, assuming PyTest permits a 'setup' function like
> > unittest, would it help if MPI is initialised explicitly in the
> > setup function and closed down at the end of a test suite (if
> > possible with PyTest)?
> > 
> > Garth
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Jan
> > 
> > 
> >  We have had this problem in the past with the 'automatic'
> >  finalisation of MPI, which is a problem if MPI is shutdown before
> >  PETSc.
> > 
> >  Garth
> > 
> > 
> >  > 6. okt. 2014 12:18 skrev "Jan Blechta"
> >  > <[email protected]> følgende:
> >  >> On Mon, 6 Oct 2014 12:07:02 +0200
> >  >> Martin Sandve Alnæs <[email protected]> wrote:
> >  >>
> >  >> > The problem is that gc is nondeterministic and in particular
> >  >> > not running with equal timing and ordering on each mpi
> >  >> > process.
> >  >> >
> >  >> > We can't use the with statement to handle the scope of every
> >  >> > single dolfin object in a program.
> >  >>
> >  >> Most of the DOLFIN destructors are not collective. So the moral
> >  >> is that
> >  >> we should avoid collective destructors as possible and document
> >  >> it like
> >  >> it is in PETSc doc.
> >  >>
> >  >> Jan
> >  >>
> >  >> >
> >  >> > We can change all file handling to use with, and require the
> >  >> > user
> >  >> to
> >  >> > use that in parallel.
> >  >> >  6. okt. 2014 11:41 skrev "Jan Blechta"
> >  >> <[email protected]>
> >  >> > følgende:
> >  >> >
> >  >> > > On Mon, 6 Oct 2014 09:48:29 +0200
> >  >> > > Martin Sandve Alnæs <[email protected]> wrote:
> >  >> > >
> >  >> > > > The 'fix' that's in the branch now was to trigger python
> >  >> garbage
> >  >> > > > collection (suggested by Øyvind Evju) before each test.
> >  >> > > >
> >  >> > > > This probably means we have a general problem in dolfin
> >  >> > > > with non-deterministic destruction order of objects in
> >  >> > > > parallel. Any destructor that uses MPI represents a
> >  >> > > > potential deadlock.
> >  >> > >
> >  >> > > To understand the issue, is the problem that garbage
> >  >> > > collection
> >  >> does
> >  >> > > not ensure when the object is destroyed which is the
> >  >> > > problem?
> >  >> > >
> >  >> > > Here http://stackoverflow.com/a/5071376/1796717 the
> >  >> > > distinction between variable scoping and object cleanup is
> >  >> > > discussed.
> >  >> Quoting it
> >  >> > >
> >  >> > >   Deterministic cleanup happens through the with statement.
> >  >> > >
> >  >> > > which might be a proper solution to the problem.
> >  >> > >
> >  >> > > Jan
> >  >> > >
> >  >> > > >
> >  >> > > > On 19 September 2014 12:52, Jan Blechta
> >  >> > > > <[email protected]> wrote:
> >  >> > > >
> >  >> > > > > On Fri, 19 Sep 2014 00:27:50 +0200
> >  >> > > > > Jan Blechta <[email protected]> wrote:
> >  >> > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > Yes, after many trials using
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > $ cd test/unit/io/python
> >  >> > > > > > $ while true; do git clean -fdx && mpirun -n 3 xterm
> >  >> > > > > > -e gdb -ex r -ex q -args python -m pytest -sv; done
> >  >> > > > > > # when it hangs and you interrupt it, it asks for
> >  >> > > > > > confirmation for # quitting, so you type n and enjoy
> >  >> > > > > > gdb...
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > I've seen a situation when 2 processes deadlocked on
> >  >> > > > > > HDF5Interface::close_file() in DOLFIN with backtrace
> >  >> > > > > > like
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > # MPI barrier
> >  >> > > > > > ...
> >  >> > > > > > # MPI close
> >  >> > > > > > # HDF5 lib calls
> >  >> > > > > > H5FClose()
> >  >> > > > > > dolfin::HDF5Interface::close_file()
> >  >> > > > > > dolfin::HDF5File::close()
> >  >> > > > > > dolfin::HDF5File::~HDF5File()
> >  >> > > > > > dolfin::HDF5File::~HDF5File()
> >  >> > > > > > # smart ptr management
> >  >> > > > > > # garbage collection
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > while 3rd process is waiting far away. Isn't it
> >  >> > > > > > strange
> >  >> that
> >  >> > > > > > destructor is there twice in stacktrace? (The upper
> >  >> > > > > > one is
> >  >> on
> >  >> > > > > > '}' line which I don't get.) What does it mean?
> >  >> > > > >
> >  >> > > > > Probably just code generation artifact - nothing
> >  >> > > > > harmful, see http://stackoverflow.com/a/15244091/1796717
> >  >> > > > >
> >  >> > > > > Jan
> >  >> > > > >
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > Jan
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > On Thu, 18 Sep 2014 16:20:51 +0200
> >  >> > > > > > Martin Sandve Alnæs <[email protected]> wrote:
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > I've added the mpi fixes for temppath fixture and
> >  >> > > > > > > fixed some other related issues while at it: When
> >  >> parameterizing
> >  >> > > > > > > a test that uses a temppath fixture, there is a need
> >  >> > > > > > > for separate directories for each parameter combo.
> >  >> > > > > > > A further improvement would be automatic cleaning of
> >  >> > > > > > > old tempdirs, but I leave that for now.
> >  >> > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > I've pushed these changes to the branch
> >  >> > > > > > > aslakbergersen/topic-change-unittest-to-pytest
> >  >> > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > The tests still hang though, in the closing of
> >  >> > > > > > > HDF5File.
> >  >> > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > Here's now to debug if someone wants to give it a
> >  >> > > > > > > shot: Just run:
> >  >> > > > > > >     mpirun -np 3 python -m pytest -s -v
> >  >> > > > > > > With gdb:
> >  >> > > > > > >     mpirun -np 3 xterm -e gdb --args python -m
> >  >> > > > > > > pytest then enter 'r' in each of the three xterms.
> >  >> > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > You may have to try a couple of times to get the
> >  >> > > > > > > hanging behaviour.
> >  >> > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > Martin
> >  >> > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > On 18 September 2014 13:23, Martin Sandve Alnæs
> >  >> > > > > > > <[email protected]> wrote:
> >  >> > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > > Good spotting both of you, thanks.
> >  >> > > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > > Martin
> >  >> > > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > > On 18 September 2014 13:01, Lawrence Mitchell <
> >  >> > > > > > > > [email protected]> wrote:
> >  >> > > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > >> On 18/09/14 11:42, Jan Blechta wrote:
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > Some problems (when running in a clean dir) are
> >  >> avoided
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > using this (although incorrect) patch. There
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > are
> >  >> race
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > conditions in creation of temp dir. It should
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > be
> >  >> done
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > using atomic operation.
> >  >> > > > > > > >> >
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > Jan
> >  >> > > > > > > >> >
> >  >> > > > > > > >> >
> >  >> > > > > > > >> >
> >  >> > >
> >  >> ==================================================================
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > diff --git a/test/unit/io/python/test_XDMF.py
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > b/test/unit/io/python/test_XDMF.py index
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > 9ad65a4..31471f1 100755 ---
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > a/test/unit/io/python/test_XDMF.py +++
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > b/test/unit/io/python/test_XDMF.py @@ -28,8
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > +28,9 @@ def temppath(): filedir =
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > basename
> >  >> =
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > os.path.basename(__file__).replace(".py",
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > "_data") temppath = os.path.join(filedir,
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > basename, "")
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > -    if not os.path.exists(temppath):
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > -        os.mkdir(temppath)
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > +    if MPI.rank(mpi_comm_world()) == 0:
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > +        if not os.path.exists(temppath):
> >  >> > > > > > > >> > +            os.mkdir(temppath)
> >  >> > > > > > > >> >      return temppath
> >  >> > > > > > > >>
> >  >> > > > > > > >> There's still a race condition here because ranks
> >  >> other
> >  >> > > > > > > >> than zero might try and use temppath before it's
> >  >> > > > > > > >> created.  I think you want something like the
> >  >> > > > > > > >> below:
> >  >> > > > > > > >>
> >  >> > > > > > > >> if MPI.rank(mpi_comm_world()) == 0:
> >  >> > > > > > > >>     if not os.path.exists(temppath):
> >  >> > > > > > > >>         os.mkdir(temppath)
> >  >> > > > > > > >> MPI.barrier(mpi_comm_world())
> >  >> > > > > > > >> return temppath
> >  >> > > > > > > >>
> >  >> > > > > > > >> If you're worried about the OS not creating files
> >  >> > > > > > > >> atomically, you can always mkdir into a tmp
> >  >> > > > > > > >> directory
> >  >> and
> >  >> > > > > > > >> then os.rename(tmp, temppath), since posix
> >  >> > > > > > > >> guarantees that renames are atomic.
> >  >> > > > > > > >>
> >  >> > > > > > > >> Lawrence
> >  >> > > > > > > >> _______________________________________________
> >  >> > > > > > > >> fenics mailing list
> >  >> > > > > > > >> [email protected]
> >  >> > > > > > > >> http://fenicsproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fenics
> >  >> > > > > > > >>
> >  >> > > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > >
> >  >> > > > > > _______________________________________________
> >  >> > > > > > fenics mailing list
> >  >> > > > > > [email protected]
> >  >> > > > > > http://fenicsproject.org/mailman/listinfo/fenics
> >  >> > > > >
> >  >> > > > >
> >  >> > >
> >  >> > >
> >  >>
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
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