Building Graphs in C++

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TOC {:toc}

Attention: Thanks for your interest in MediaPipe! We have moved to https://developers.google.com/mediapipe as the primary developer documentation site for MediaPipe as of April 3, 2023.

C++ graph builder is a powerful tool for:

Building complex graphs
Parametrizing graphs (e.g. setting a delegate on InferenceCalculator, enabling/disabling parts of the graph)
Deduplicating graphs (e.g. instead of CPU and GPU dedicated graphs in pbtxt you can have a single code that constructs required graphs, sharing as much as possible)
Supporting optional graph inputs/outputs
Customizing graphs per platform

Basic Usage

Let's see how C++ graph builder can be used for a simple graph:

proto

# Graph inputs.
input_stream: "input_tensors"
input_side_packet: "model"

# Graph outputs.
output_stream: "output_tensors"

node {
  calculator: "InferenceCalculator"
  input_stream: "TENSORS:input_tensors"
  input_side_packet: "MODEL:model"
  output_stream: "TENSORS:output_tensors"
  node_options: {
    [type.googleapis.com/mediapipe.InferenceCalculatorOptions] {
      # Requesting GPU delegate.
      delegate { gpu {} }
    }
  }
}

Function to build the above CalculatorGraphConfig may look like:

c++

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Graph inputs.
  Stream<std::vector<Tensor>> input_tensors =
      graph.In(0).SetName("input_tensors").Cast<std::vector<Tensor>>();
  SidePacket<TfLiteModelPtr> model =
      graph.SideIn(0).SetName("model").Cast<TfLiteModelPtr>();

  auto& inference_node = graph.AddNode("InferenceCalculator");
  auto& inference_opts =
      inference_node.GetOptions<InferenceCalculatorOptions>();
  // Requesting GPU delegate.
  inference_opts.mutable_delegate()->mutable_gpu();
  input_tensors.ConnectTo(inference_node.In("TENSORS"));
  model.ConnectTo(inference_node.SideIn("MODEL"));
  Stream<std::vector<Tensor>> output_tensors =
      inference_node.Out("TENSORS").Cast<std::vector<Tensor>>();

  // Graph outputs.
  output_tensors.SetName("output_tensors").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));

  // Get `CalculatorGraphConfig` to pass it into `CalculatorGraph`
  return graph.GetConfig();
}

Short summary:

Use Graph::In/SideIn to get graph inputs as Stream/SidePacket
Use Node::Out/SideOut to get node outputs as Stream/SidePacket
Use Stream/SidePacket::ConnectTo to connect streams and side packets to node inputs (Node::In/SideIn) and graph outputs (Graph::Out/SideOut)
- There's a "shortcut" operator >> that you can use instead of ConnectTo function (E.g. x >> node.In("IN")).
Stream/SidePacket::Cast is used to cast stream or side packet of AnyType (E.g. Stream<AnyType> in = graph.In(0);) to a particular type
- Using actual types instead of AnyType sets you on a better path for unleashing graph builder capabilities and improving your graphs readability.

Advanced Usage

Utility Functions

Let's extract inference construction code into a dedicated utility function to help for readability and code reuse:

c++

// Updates graph to run inference.
Stream<std::vector<Tensor>> RunInference(
    Stream<std::vector<Tensor>> tensors, SidePacket<TfLiteModelPtr> model,
    const InferenceCalculatorOptions::Delegate& delegate, Graph& graph) {
  auto& inference_node = graph.AddNode("InferenceCalculator");
  auto& inference_opts =
      inference_node.GetOptions<InferenceCalculatorOptions>();
  *inference_opts.mutable_delegate() = delegate;
  tensors.ConnectTo(inference_node.In("TENSORS"));
  model.ConnectTo(inference_node.SideIn("MODEL"));
  return inference_node.Out("TENSORS").Cast<std::vector<Tensor>>();
}

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Graph inputs.
  Stream<std::vector<Tensor>> input_tensors =
      graph.In(0).SetName("input_tensors").Cast<std::vector<Tensor>>();
  SidePacket<TfLiteModelPtr> model =
      graph.SideIn(0).SetName("model").Cast<TfLiteModelPtr>();

  InferenceCalculatorOptions::Delegate delegate;
  delegate.mutable_gpu();
  Stream<std::vector<Tensor>> output_tensors =
      RunInference(input_tensors, model, delegate, graph);

  // Graph outputs.
  output_tensors.SetName("output_tensors").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

As a result, RunInference provides a clear interface stating what are the inputs/outputs and their types.

It can be easily reused, e.g. it's only a few lines if you want to run an extra model inference:

c++

  // Run first inference.
  Stream<std::vector<Tensor>> output_tensors =
      RunInference(input_tensors, model, delegate, graph);
  // Run second inference on the output of the first one.
  Stream<std::vector<Tensor>> extra_output_tensors =
      RunInference(output_tensors, extra_model, delegate, graph);

And you don't need to duplicate names and tags (InferenceCalculator, TENSORS, MODEL) or introduce dedicated constants here and there - those details are localized to RunInference function.

Tip: extracting RunInference and similar functions to dedicated modules (e.g. inference.h/cc which depends on the inference calculator) enables reuse in graphs construction code and helps automatically pull in calculator dependencies (e.g. no need to manually add :inference_calculator dep, just let your IDE include inference.h and build cleaner pull in corresponding dependency).

Utility Classes

And surely, it's not only about functions, in some cases it's beneficial to introduce utility classes which can help making your graph construction code more readable and less error prone.

MediaPipe offers PassThroughCalculator calculator, which is simply passing through its inputs:

input_stream: "float_value"
input_stream: "int_value"
input_stream: "bool_value"

output_stream: "passed_float_value"
output_stream: "passed_int_value"
output_stream: "passed_bool_value"

node {
  calculator: "PassThroughCalculator"
  input_stream: "float_value"
  input_stream: "int_value"
  input_stream: "bool_value"
  # The order must be the same as for inputs (or you can use explicit indexes)
  output_stream: "passed_float_value"
  output_stream: "passed_int_value"
  output_stream: "passed_bool_value"
}

Let's see the straightforward C++ construction code to create the above graph:

c++

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Graph inputs.
  Stream<float> float_value = graph.In(0).SetName("float_value").Cast<float>();
  Stream<int> int_value = graph.In(1).SetName("int_value").Cast<int>();
  Stream<bool> bool_value = graph.In(2).SetName("bool_value").Cast<bool>();

  auto& pass_node = graph.AddNode("PassThroughCalculator");
  float_value.ConnectTo(pass_node.In("")[0]);
  int_value.ConnectTo(pass_node.In("")[1]);
  bool_value.ConnectTo(pass_node.In("")[2]);
  Stream<float> passed_float_value = pass_node.Out("")[0].Cast<float>();
  Stream<int> passed_int_value = pass_node.Out("")[1].Cast<int>();
  Stream<bool> passed_bool_value = pass_node.Out("")[2].Cast<bool>();

  // Graph outputs.
  passed_float_value.SetName("passed_float_value").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));
  passed_int_value.SetName("passed_int_value").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));
  passed_bool_value.SetName("passed_bool_value").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));

  // Get `CalculatorGraphConfig` to pass it into `CalculatorGraph`
  return graph.GetConfig();
}

While pbtxt representation maybe error prone (when we have many inputs to pass through), C++ code looks even worse: repeated empty tags and Cast calls. Let's see how we can do better by introducing a PassThroughNodeBuilder:

c++

class PassThroughNodeBuilder {
 public:
  explicit PassThroughNodeBuilder(Graph& graph)
      : node_(graph.AddNode("PassThroughCalculator")) {}

  template <typename T>
  Stream<T> PassThrough(Stream<T> stream) {
    stream.ConnectTo(node_.In(index_));
    return node_.Out(index_++).Cast<T>();
  }

 private:
  int index_ = 0;
  GenericNode& node_;
};

And now graph construction code can look like:

c++

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Graph inputs.
  Stream<float> float_value = graph.In(0).SetName("float_value").Cast<float>();
  Stream<int> int_value = graph.In(1).SetName("int_value").Cast<int>();
  Stream<bool> bool_value = graph.In(2).SetName("bool_value").Cast<bool>();

  PassThroughNodeBuilder pass_node_builder(graph);
  Stream<float> passed_float_value = pass_node_builder.PassThrough(float_value);
  Stream<int> passed_int_value = pass_node_builder.PassThrough(int_value);
  Stream<bool> passed_bool_value = pass_node_builder.PassThrough(bool_value);

  // Graph outputs.
  passed_float_value.SetName("passed_float_value").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));
  passed_int_value.SetName("passed_int_value").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));
  passed_bool_value.SetName("passed_bool_value").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));

  // Get `CalculatorGraphConfig` to pass it into `CalculatorGraph`
  return graph.GetConfig();
}

Now you can't have incorrect order or index in your pass through construction code and save some typing by guessing the type for Cast from the PassThrough input.

Tip: the same as for the RunInference function, extracting PassThroughNodeBuilder and similar utility classes into dedicated modules enables reuse in graph construction code and helps to automatically pull in the corresponding calculator dependencies.

Dos and Don'ts

Define graph inputs at the very beginning if possible

c++

Stream<D> RunSomething(Stream<A> a, Stream<B> b, Graph& graph) {
  Stream<C> c = graph.In(2).SetName("c").Cast<C>();  // Bad.
  // ...
}

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  Stream<A> a = graph.In(0).SetName("a").Cast<A>();
  // 10/100/N lines of code.
  Stream<B> b = graph.In(1).SetName("b").Cast<B>()  // Bad.
  Stream<D> d = RunSomething(a, b, graph);
  // ...

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

In the above code:

It can be hard to guess how many inputs you have in the graph.
Can be error prone overall and hard to maintain in future (e.g. is it a correct index? name? what if some inputs are removed or made optional? etc.).
RunSomething reuse is limited because other graphs may have different inputs

Instead, define your graph inputs at the very beginning of your graph builder:

c++

Stream<D> RunSomething(Stream<A> a, Stream<B> b, Stream<C> c, Graph& graph) {
  // ...
}

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Inputs.
  Stream<A> a = graph.In(0).SetName("a").Cast<A>();
  Stream<B> b = graph.In(1).SetName("b").Cast<B>();
  Stream<C> c = graph.In(2).SetName("c").Cast<C>();

  // 10/100/N lines of code.
  Stream<D> d = RunSomething(a, b, c, graph);
  // ...

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

Use std::optional if you have an input stream or side packet that is not always defined and put it at the very beginning:

c++

std::optional<Stream<A>> a;
if (needs_a) {
  a = graph.In(0).SetName(a).Cast<A>();
}

Note: of course, there can be exceptions - for example, there can be a use case where calling RunSomething1(..., graph), ..., RunSomethingN(..., graph) is intended to add new inputs, so afterwards you can iterate over them and feed only added inputs into the graph. However, in any case, try to make it easy for readers to find out what graph inputs it has or may have.

Define graph outputs at the very end

c++

void RunSomething(Stream<Input> input, Graph& graph) {
  // ...
  node.Out("OUTPUT_F")
      .SetName("output_f").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));  // Bad.
}

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // 10/100/N lines of code.
  node.Out("OUTPUT_D")
      .SetName("output_d").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));  // Bad.
  // 10/100/N lines of code.
  node.Out("OUTPUT_E")
      .SetName("output_e").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));  // Bad.
  // 10/100/N lines of code.
  RunSomething(input, graph);
  // ...

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

In the above code:

It can be hard to guess how many outputs you have in the graph.
Can be error prone overall and hard to maintain in future (e.g. is it a correct index? name? what if some outpus are removed or made optional? etc.).
RunSomething reuse is limited as other graphs may have different outputs

Instead, define your graph outputs at the very end of your graph builder:

c++

Stream<F> RunSomething(Stream<Input> input, Graph& graph) {
  // ...
  return node.Out("OUTPUT_F").Cast<F>();
}

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // 10/100/N lines of code.
  Stream<D> d = node.Out("OUTPUT_D").Cast<D>();
  // 10/100/N lines of code.
  Stream<E> e = node.Out("OUTPUT_E").Cast<E>();
  // 10/100/N lines of code.
  Stream<F> f = RunSomething(input, graph);
  // ...

  // Outputs.
  d.SetName("output_d").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));
  e.SetName("output_e").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));
  f.SetName("output_f").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

Keep nodes decoupled from each other

In MediaPipe, packet streams and side packets are as meaningful as processing nodes. And any node input requirements and output products are expressed clearly and independently in terms of the streams and side packets it consumes and produces.

c++

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Inputs.
  Stream<A> a = graph.In(0).Cast<A>();

  auto& node1 = graph.AddNode("Calculator1");
  a.ConnectTo(node1.In("INPUT"));

  auto& node2 = graph.AddNode("Calculator2");
  node1.Out("OUTPUT").ConnectTo(node2.In("INPUT"));  // Bad.

  auto& node3 = graph.AddNode("Calculator3");
  node1.Out("OUTPUT").ConnectTo(node3.In("INPUT_B"));  // Bad.
  node2.Out("OUTPUT").ConnectTo(node3.In("INPUT_C"));  // Bad.

  auto& node4 = graph.AddNode("Calculator4");
  node1.Out("OUTPUT").ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_B"));  // Bad.
  node2.Out("OUTPUT").ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_C"));  // Bad.
  node3.Out("OUTPUT").ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_D"));  // Bad.

  // Outputs.
  node1.Out("OUTPUT").SetName("b").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));  // Bad.
  node2.Out("OUTPUT").SetName("c").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));  // Bad.
  node3.Out("OUTPUT").SetName("d").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));  // Bad.
  node4.Out("OUTPUT").SetName("e").ConnectTo(graph.Out(3));  // Bad.

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

In the above code:

Nodes are coupled to each other, e.g. node4 knows where its inputs are coming from (node1, node2, node3) and it complicates refactoring, maintenance and code reuse
- Such usage pattern is a downgrade from proto representation, where nodes are decoupled by default.
node#.Out("OUTPUT") calls are duplicated and readability suffers as you could use cleaner names instead and also provide an actual type.

So, to fix the above issues you can write the following graph construction code:

c++

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Inputs.
  Stream<A> a = graph.In(0).Cast<A>();

  // `node1` usage is limited to 3 lines below.
  auto& node1 = graph.AddNode("Calculator1");
  a.ConnectTo(node1.In("INPUT"));
  Stream<B> b = node1.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<B>();

  // `node2` usage is limited to 3 lines below.
  auto& node2 = graph.AddNode("Calculator2");
  b.ConnectTo(node2.In("INPUT"));
  Stream<C> c = node2.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<C>();

  // `node3` usage is limited to 4 lines below.
  auto& node3 = graph.AddNode("Calculator3");
  b.ConnectTo(node3.In("INPUT_B"));
  c.ConnectTo(node3.In("INPUT_C"));
  Stream<D> d = node3.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<D>();

  // `node4` usage is limited to 5 lines below.
  auto& node4 = graph.AddNode("Calculator4");
  b.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_B"));
  c.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_C"));
  d.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_D"));
  Stream<E> e = node4.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<E>();

  // Outputs.
  b.SetName("b").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));
  c.SetName("c").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));
  d.SetName("d").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));
  e.SetName("e").ConnectTo(graph.Out(3));

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

Now, if needed, you can easily remove node1 and make b a graph input and no updates are needed to node2, node3, node4 (same as in proto representation by the way), because they are decoupled from each other.

Overall, the above code replicates the proto graph more closely:

proto

input_stream: "a"

node {
  calculator: "Calculator1"
  input_stream: "INPUT:a"
  output_stream: "OUTPUT:b"
}

node {
  calculator: "Calculator2"
  input_stream: "INPUT:b"
  output_stream: "OUTPUT:C"
}

node {
  calculator: "Calculator3"
  input_stream: "INPUT_B:b"
  input_stream: "INPUT_C:c"
  output_stream: "OUTPUT:d"
}

node {
  calculator: "Calculator4"
  input_stream: "INPUT_B:b"
  input_stream: "INPUT_C:c"
  input_stream: "INPUT_D:d"
  output_stream: "OUTPUT:e"
}

output_stream: "b"
output_stream: "c"
output_stream: "d"
output_stream: "e"

On top of that, now you can extract utility functions for further reuse in other graphs:

c++

Stream<B> RunCalculator1(Stream<A> a, Graph& graph) {
  auto& node = graph.AddNode("Calculator1");
  a.ConnectTo(node.In("INPUT"));
  return node.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<B>();
}

Stream<C> RunCalculator2(Stream<B> b, Graph& graph) {
  auto& node = graph.AddNode("Calculator2");
  b.ConnectTo(node.In("INPUT"));
  return node.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<C>();
}

Stream<D> RunCalculator3(Stream<B> b, Stream<C> c, Graph& graph) {
  auto& node = graph.AddNode("Calculator3");
  b.ConnectTo(node.In("INPUT_B"));
  c.ConnectTo(node.In("INPUT_C"));
  return node.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<D>();
}

Stream<E> RunCalculator4(Stream<B> b, Stream<C> c, Stream<D> d, Graph& graph) {
  auto& node = graph.AddNode("Calculator4");
  b.ConnectTo(node.In("INPUT_B"));
  c.ConnectTo(node.In("INPUT_C"));
  d.ConnectTo(node.In("INPUT_D"));
  return node.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<E>();
}

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Inputs.
  Stream<A> a = graph.In(0).Cast<A>();

  Stream<B> b = RunCalculator1(a, graph);
  Stream<C> c = RunCalculator2(b, graph);
  Stream<D> d = RunCalculator3(b, c, graph);
  Stream<E> e = RunCalculator4(b, c, d, graph);

  // Outputs.
  b.SetName("b").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));
  c.SetName("c").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));
  d.SetName("d").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));
  e.SetName("e").ConnectTo(graph.Out(3));

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

Separate nodes for better readability

c++

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Inputs.
  Stream<A> a = graph.In(0).Cast<A>();
  auto& node1 = graph.AddNode("Calculator1");
  a.ConnectTo(node1.In("INPUT"));
  Stream<B> b = node1.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<B>();
  auto& node2 = graph.AddNode("Calculator2");
  b.ConnectTo(node2.In("INPUT"));
  Stream<C> c = node2.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<C>();
  auto& node3 = graph.AddNode("Calculator3");
  b.ConnectTo(node3.In("INPUT_B"));
  c.ConnectTo(node3.In("INPUT_C"));
  Stream<D> d = node3.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<D>();
  auto& node4 = graph.AddNode("Calculator4");
  b.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_B"));
  c.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_C"));
  d.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_D"));
  Stream<E> e = node4.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<E>();
  // Outputs.
  b.SetName("b").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));
  c.SetName("c").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));
  d.SetName("d").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));
  e.SetName("e").ConnectTo(graph.Out(3));

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

In the above code, it can be hard to grasp the idea where each node begins and ends. To improve this and help your code readers, you can simply have blank lines before and after each node:

c++

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Inputs.
  Stream<A> a = graph.In(0).Cast<A>();

  auto& node1 = graph.AddNode("Calculator1");
  a.ConnectTo(node1.In("INPUT"));
  Stream<B> b = node1.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<B>();

  auto& node2 = graph.AddNode("Calculator2");
  b.ConnectTo(node2.In("INPUT"));
  Stream<C> c = node2.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<C>();

  auto& node3 = graph.AddNode("Calculator3");
  b.ConnectTo(node3.In("INPUT_B"));
  c.ConnectTo(node3.In("INPUT_C"));
  Stream<D> d = node3.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<D>();

  auto& node4 = graph.AddNode("Calculator4");
  b.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_B"));
  c.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_C"));
  d.ConnectTo(node4.In("INPUT_D"));
  Stream<E> e = node4.Out("OUTPUT").Cast<E>();

  // Outputs.
  b.SetName("b").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));
  c.SetName("c").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));
  d.SetName("d").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));
  e.SetName("e").ConnectTo(graph.Out(3));

  return graph.GetConfig();
}

Also, the above representation matches CalculatorGraphConfig proto representation better.

If you extract nodes into utility functions, they are scoped within functions already and it's clear where they begin and end, so it's completely fine to have:

c++

CalculatorGraphConfig BuildGraph() {
  Graph graph;

  // Inputs.
  Stream<A> a = graph.In(0).Cast<A>();

  Stream<B> b = RunCalculator1(a, graph);
  Stream<C> c = RunCalculator2(b, graph);
  Stream<D> d = RunCalculator3(b, c, graph);
  Stream<E> e = RunCalculator4(b, c, d, graph);

  // Outputs.
  b.SetName("b").ConnectTo(graph.Out(0));
  c.SetName("c").ConnectTo(graph.Out(1));
  d.SetName("d").ConnectTo(graph.Out(2));
  e.SetName("e").ConnectTo(graph.Out(3));

  return graph.GetConfig();
}