Unify Operators using Python Interface, Remove CMake (#37)

* separate runtime and artifact setup

* start on refactoring operators from CMake to Python

* operators up to GEMM migrated (dequant missing); fixed timing issue in Python (missing warmup iterations); merge Curt's GEMM fixes

* more fixes; remove old moved operators

* [wip] tests with default parameters are working

* undo change to aie base operator:

* format

* port last two remaining operators (mostly Claude)

* remove CMake and other unused code after refactor

* format

* remove refactored files, restore torch_dtype_map

* fix tests

* update action to use Python-based tests

* format

* fix swiglu

* update application tests

* update README, remove references to CMake

* remove CMake from requirements

* format

* cleanup utils/torch_to_numpy, make example applications test discovery use absolute path

* format

* more fixes

* more fixes

Author: andrej

.github/actions/build/action.yaml

@@ -10,22 +10,20 @@ inputs:
   env_name:
     required: false
     default: "ci_env"
-  cmake_extra_flags:
+  extensive:
     required: false
-    default: ""
+    default: "false"
 
 runs:
   using: "composite"
   steps:
-    - name: Build
+    - name: Discover tests
       env:
         HOME: /workspace
       shell: bash
       run: |
         source ${{ inputs.env_name }}/bin/activate
         set -euxo pipefail
-        if [ -n "${{ inputs.cmake_extra_flags }}" ]; then
-          echo "Using extra CMake flags: ${{ inputs.cmake_extra_flags }}"
-        fi
-        cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DIRONCLAD_AIE_TARGET=aie2p ${{ inputs.cmake_extra_flags }}
-        cmake --build build -- -j1 VERBOSE=1
+        mkdir -p testing
+        cd testing
+        python3 ../operators/common/discover_tests.py $(if [ "${{ inputs.extensive }}" = "true" ]; then echo "--extensive"; fi) --output-dir .

.github/actions/test/action.yaml

@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ inputs:
   env_name:
     required: false
     default: "ci_env"
-  build_dir:
+  testing_dir:
     required: false
-    default: "build"
+    default: "testing"
 
 runs:
   using: "composite"
@@ -23,4 +23,4 @@ runs:
       shell: "bash"
       run: |
         source ${{ inputs.env_name }}/bin/activate
-        ./scripts/run_tests.py ${{ inputs.test_flags }} ${{ inputs.build_dir }}
+        ./scripts/run_tests.py ${{ inputs.test_flags }} ${{ inputs.testing_dir }}

.github/workflows/extensive.yml

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: ./.github/actions/build
         with:
           env_name: ci_env
-          cmake_extra_flags: "-DEXTENSIVE_TESTING=ON"
+          extensive: "true"
 
       - name: Test
         id: test

.github/workflows/small.yml

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: ./.github/actions/build
         with:
           env_name: ci_env
+          extensive: "false"
 
       - name: Test
         id: test

.github/workflows/test-examples.yml

@@ -38,19 +38,28 @@ jobs:
           source ci_env/bin/activate
           pip install -r requirements_examples.txt
 
-      - name: Build examples
-        uses: ./.github/actions/build
-        with:
-          env_name: ci_env
-          cmake_extra_flags: "-DBUILD_APPLICATIONS=ON -DBUILD_EXAMPLES=OFF"
+      - name: Generate application tests
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          HOME: /workspace
+        run: |
+          source ci_env/bin/activate
+          set -euxo pipefail
+          mkdir -p testing
+          cd testing
+          python3 ../applications/discover_application_tests.py --output-dir .
+          echo "Application tests generated:"
+          ls -la
 
       - name: Run examples
         id: test
         continue-on-error: true
-        uses: ./.github/actions/test
-        with:
-          env_name: ci_env
-          test_flags: "--log tests.log --csv-latest tests_latest.csv"
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          HOME: /workspace
+        run: |
+          source ci_env/bin/activate
+          ./scripts/run_tests.py --log tests.log --csv-latest tests_latest.csv testing
 
       - name: Commit example test results
         uses: ./.github/actions/commit_results

.github/workflows/test-mlir-aie-wheels.yml

@@ -46,7 +46,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: ./.github/actions/build
         with:
           env_name: ci_env
-          cmake_extra_flags: "-DBUILD_APPLICATIONS=OFF -DBUILD_EXAMPLES=ON"
 
       - name: Test
         id: test

.gitignore

@@ -3,11 +3,9 @@
 
 /my_install*
 /ironenv*
-/cmakeModules*
 .vscode
 __pycache__
 .DS_Store
-**/CMakeFiles
 *.bin
 build/*
 **/_build/**

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ If starting from `Ubuntu 24.04` you may need to update the Linux kernel to 6.11+
     ```bash
     # Python versions 3.10, 3.12 and 3.13 are currently supported by our wheels
     sudo apt install \
-    build-essential clang clang-14 lld lld-14 cmake ninja-build python3-venv python3-pip
+    build-essential clang clang-14 lld lld-14 python3-venv python3-pip
     ```
 
 1. Setup a virtual environment and activate it:
@@ -119,56 +119,30 @@ If starting from `Ubuntu 24.04` you may need to update the Linux kernel to 6.11+
 
 1. To test your installation, you can try to build and run the example below:
    ```bash
-   cmake -B build
-   cmake --build build --target silu_1_cols_1_channels_2048_tile_2048_run
+   ./operators/axpy/test.py
    ```
 
-Note: On a fresh install, if you get `CMake Error: Could not find CMAKE_ROOT !!!`, just deactivate and reactivate your python environment.
+### Building/Using & Testing Operators
 
-### Building & Testing
+All available operators can be found in `operators`. These each contain:
 
-> NOTE: Be sure the XRT setup script has been sourced: 
->       `source /opt/xilinx/xrt/setup.sh`
-
-IRON is a CMake-based project. To configure the project, run:
-```shell
-cmake -B build
-```
-
-> Note: By default, the project is built for AIE2P. To build for AIE2, set the target using:
->       `cmake -B build -DIRONCLAD_AIE_TARGET=aie2`
+* `op.py`: The Python operator interface -- an easy access point to integrate operators into your project that prescribes how to compile the operator (build artifacts) and how to call it at runtime (buffer sizes, etc.)
+* `design.py`: The implementation of the operator's NPU code. Often references a kernel in `aie_kernels` for the compute core code and describes the data movement using ObjectFIFOs.
+* `reference.py`: A reference CPU implementation to validate the correctness of the NPU implementation.
+* `test.py`: An end-to-end test that instantiates and builds the operator, runs it and verifies its outputs against the reference.
 
-To build all designs, use: 
-```shell
-cmake --build build
-```
+> NOTE: Be sure the XRT setup script has been sourced and the Python environment is activated: 
+>       `source /opt/xilinx/xrt/setup.sh`
+>       `source /path/to/ironenv/bin/activate`
 
-To test all the designs, use the following python script:
+To build and test all the operators, first generate a list of all test cases, then run them:
 ``` python
-./scripts/run_tests.py --iter 1
+mkdir testing && cd testing
+../operators/common/discover_tests.py
+../scripts/run_tests.py --iter 1
 ``` 
-You can select a single test to run using the `--select` flag.
 
-> Targets are listed when running `cmake -B build` with the following syntax:
-> ```
-> Registering Executable: <TARGET_NAME>
-> ```
-
-If you want to build only a specific design, run:
-```shell
-# Example: cmake --build build --target silu_4_cols_1_channels_2048_tile_512
-cmake --build build --target <TARGET_NAME>
-```
-
-You can also test an individual (or a selection of multiple) test(s) using the same script:
-```shell
-./scripts/run_tests.py --select <TARGET_ONE> --select <TARGET_TWO>
-```
-
-Additionally a target to build & run is made available under the `<TARGET_NAME>_run` symbol. 
-```shell
-cmake --build build --target silu_4_cols_1_channels_2048_tile_512_run
-```
+You can select a single test to run using the `--select` flag.
 
 ### Git Hooks (Optional but Recommended)