When working with Julia and Python together, it is often necessary to call Julia code from Python. One common use case is to run Julia code on a separate thread in order to take advantage of Julia’s high-performance computing capabilities. In this article, we will explore three different ways to call Julia from Python on a separate thread, and evaluate which option is the best.
Option 1: Using the PyJulia package
The PyJulia package provides a convenient way to call Julia code from Python. It allows you to import Julia modules and call Julia functions directly from Python. To run Julia code on a separate thread, we can use the threading module in Python.
import threading
import julia
from julia import Main
def julia_code():
# Julia code goes here
julia_thread = threading.Thread(target=julia_code)
julia_thread.start()
julia_thread.join()
This option is relatively easy to implement and allows you to take advantage of Julia’s performance. However, it requires the installation of the PyJulia package and may introduce some overhead due to the inter-process communication between Python and Julia.
Option 2: Using the PyCall package
Another way to call Julia from Python is to use the PyCall package. PyCall allows you to import and call Julia functions from Python, similar to the PyJulia package. However, instead of running Julia code on a separate thread, we can use the multiprocessing module in Python to run Julia code in a separate process.
import multiprocessing
from julia import Main
def julia_code():
# Julia code goes here
julia_process = multiprocessing.Process(target=julia_code)
julia_process.start()
julia_process.join()
This option also allows you to leverage Julia’s performance, but it requires the installation of the PyCall package. Running Julia code in a separate process can help mitigate the inter-process communication overhead, but it may introduce additional complexity.
Option 3: Using the PyJulia and PyCall combination
A third option is to combine the PyJulia and PyCall packages to call Julia code from Python. This approach allows you to import Julia modules and call Julia functions directly from Python, while also running the Julia code in a separate process using the multiprocessing module.
import multiprocessing
import julia
from julia import Main
def julia_code():
# Julia code goes here
julia_process = multiprocessing.Process(target=julia_code)
julia_process.start()
julia_process.join()
This option combines the advantages of both PyJulia and PyCall, allowing you to leverage Julia’s performance while running the code in a separate process. However, it requires the installation of both packages and may introduce additional complexity.
After evaluating the three options, it is difficult to determine a clear winner as the best option depends on the specific use case and requirements. Option 1 using the PyJulia package is the simplest to implement, but may introduce some overhead. Option 2 using the PyCall package with multiprocessing can help mitigate the overhead, but adds complexity. Option 3 combining PyJulia and PyCall provides the best of both worlds, but requires the installation of both packages and may introduce additional complexity. Ultimately, the best option will depend on the specific needs of your project.
