The TensorFlow Frontend (TF FE) is a C++ based OpenVINO Frontend component that is responsible for reading and converting a TensorFlow model to an ov::Model
object
that further can be serialized into the Intermediate Representation (IR) format.
This is an internal API for OpenVINO that is used to implement user facing API such as Model Optimizer, read_model
function, and OpenVINO Integration with TensorFlow.
Regular users should not use the frontend directly.
flowchart BT
model[(model1.pb)]
style model fill:#427cb0
model2[(model2.pb)]
style model2 fill:#427cb0
model3[(model3.pb)]
style model3 fill:#427cb0
ov_model[(ov::Model)]
style ov_model fill:#427cb0
ovtf(OpenVINO Integration with TensorFlow)
style ovtf fill:#ffffc2
tf_fe(TensorFlow Frontend)
style tf_fe fill:#ee9a4d
fem(Frontend Manager)
mo(Model Optimizer)
ov_runtime(OpenVINO Runtime)
model --> mo --> fem --> tf_fe
model2 --> ov_runtime --> fem
model3 --> ovtf --> tf_fe
tf_fe --> ov_model
click ovtf "https://github.com/openvinotoolkit/openvino_tensorflow"
Currently, it is only used by OpenVINO Integration with TensorFlow. Model Optimizer for now relies on the legacy TensorFlow Frontend developed in Python.
People from the openvino-tf-frontend-maintainers have the rights to approve and merge PRs to the TensorFlow Frontend component. They can assist with any questions about the component.
The structure of OpenVINO TensorFlow Frontend sources includes the following directories:
- include is a public frontend API.
- src folder contains the sources of the component.
- tests cover internal transformations.
OpenVINO TensorFlow Frontend uses TensorFlow Protobuf files to read and parse different TensorFlow model formats. The whole workflow can be split into two steps: model loading and conversion.
During loading, the FrontEnd::load()
method creates InputModel
that encapsulates the GraphIterator
object.
GraphIterator
is a reader that iterates through the graph nodes in the topological order.
GraphIterator::get_decoder()
provides a decoder for the current graph node to read its attributes.
Each TensorFlow model format has its implementation of GraphIterator
. Currently, the frontend supports only binary frozen format .pb
,
and GraphIteratorProto
is used for reading and parsing this format. The architecture of the loading step is shown in the picture below:
classDiagram
direction BT
class TensorFrontend {
+load()
}
TensorFrontend --|> InputModel
GraphIterator "1" --o "1" InputModel
Place --o "1..*" InputModel
DecoderBase "1" --o "1" Place
GraphIteratorProto ..|> GraphIterator
After the loading step, InputModel
includes a container of topologically sorted operation Place
objects.
During conversion, each Place
provides a DecoderBase
object to retrieve attributes of the current operation to be transformed into the OpenVINO opset.
Frontend
converts operations in topological order and requires NodeContext
for the current operation node,
which includes Decoder
and OutputVector
inputs from already converted nodes.
The workflow of the conversion step is presented in the diagram below:
flowchart LR
subgraph tf_fe["Frontend::convert()"]
first_pass["1st transform pass (Loaders)"]
NodeContext --> first_pass
end
ov::InputModel --> tf_fe
tf_fe --> ov::Model
OpenVINO TensorFlow Frontend supports extensions. To add an extension, use ov::frontend::tensorflow::Frontend::add_extension()
API.
The next extension types are supported:
ov::frontend::tensorflow::ConversionExtension
orov::frontend::ConversionExtension
- add new Loader into the conversion pipelineov::TelemetryExtension
- enable telemetry for the frontendov::BaseOpExtension
- enable support of a custom operationov::detail::SOExtension
- allow to supportov::BaseOpExtension
extensions loaded from the external library.
TensorFlow conversion into the OpenVINO opset operation requires one pass or two passes:
- One pass using Loaders directly transforms TF operation into a sub-graph of OpenVINO opset.
- Two passes consist of Loaders and Internal Transformations, where the first pass transforms a TF operation into a sub-graph with Internal Operations, and the second pass avoids internal operations. Two transformation passes are used when a TensorFlow operation cannot be mapped into a sub-graph of the OpenVINO opset, and the conversion depends on the succeeding operations in the graph.
In most cases, it is sufficient to use just one pass for TensorFlow operation conversion.
Most TensorFlow operations can be converted by one transformation pass using Loader
.
The dictionary of Loaders
is placed in the op_table.cpp file and loaders are in the op directory:
Here is an example of Loader
for TensorFlow Einsum
operation:
In this example, the loader checks the consistency of the operation by using default_op_checks
and retrieves an attribute of the equation by using the NodeContext::get_attribute()
method.
The loader uses OpenVINO Core API for building the OpenVINO sub-graph to replace the TensorFlow operation.
The support of a new TensorFlow operation requires implementing a new Loader
in a separate file in the op directory and registering it into the dictionary of Loaders
.
The main rules for loaders implementation:
- Support dynamic shapes and ranks, undefined types, including for the future support of new types, such as strings and complex numbers.
- Try to save the same algorithmic complexity of the decomposition.
- Use information about operation types. For example, input data with an undefined rank to
Conv2D
must be of rank equal to 4. - Use the latest OpenVINO opset version for the transformation.
- Preserve output tensor names.
- Use helpers routines for operation check and construction of a graph from
util.hpp
.
In rare cases, TensorFlow operation conversion requires two transformations (Loader
and Internal Transformation
).
In the first step, Loader
must convert a TF operation into Internal Operation that is used temporarily by the conversion pipeline.
The internal operation implementation must also contain the validate_and_infer_types()
method as similar to OpenVINO Core operations.
Here is an example of an implementation for the internal operation SparseFillEmptyRows
used to convert Wide and Deep models.
In the second step, Internal Transformation
based on ov::pass::MatcherPass
must convert sub-graphs with internal operations into sub-graphs consisting only of the OpenVINO opset.
For more information about ov::pass::MatcherPass
based transformations and their development, read Overview of Transformations API
and OpenVINO Matcher Pass documentation.
The internal transformation must be called in the ov::frontend::tensorflow::FrontEnd::normalize()
method.
It is important to check the order of applying internal transformations to avoid situations when some internal operation
breaks a graph pattern with an internal operation for another internal transformation.
There are two types of tests for the TensorFlow Frontend (TF FE): layer tests and unit tests.
The layer tests are used to validate support of TensorFlow operation by the frontend.
The unit tests cover TensorFlow format reading functionality, conversion pipeline, and internal transformations for Transpose Sinking and conversion of sub-graphs with TF FE internal operations into the OpenVINO opset.
For operation conversion that requires just Loader
, implement layers tests:
- For support of TensorFlow 1 operation: TensorFlow 1 Layer Tests
- For support of TensorFlow 2 Keras operation: TensorFlow 2 Keras Layer Tests
In case of two transformation passes using Loader
and Internal Transformation
, implement them in addition to the layer tests:
- Unit tests to cover the helper transformation
For building the TF FE unit tests, use the CMake target ov_tensorflow_frontend_tests
. CMake automatically runs
generation scripts to create TensorFlow models used in the testing.
Once the build is complete, launch the ov_tensorflow_frontend_tests
(ov_tensorflow_frontend_tests.exe
for Windows)
executable file to run all tests for the TensorFlow Frontend. The unit tests use the GoogleTest framework for execution.
To get a tests coverage report for the TensorFlow Frontend, read the page on measuring coverage.
The layer tests are Python-based and check that a TensorFlow operation is supported by TF FE. The testing pipeline of the layer tests consists of four steps:
- Create a single-layer model with tested operation using TensorFlow.
- Convert this model into IR with TF FE.
- Infer the original model using TensorFlow and infer the IR model using OpenVINO.
- Compare the inference results from both frameworks.
The layer tests include two suites for TensorFlow 1 and TensorFlow 2 Keras operation set support.
To set up environment for running the layer tests, follow these instructions.
To test the whole suite of the TensorFlow 1 operation set support, run the following command:
py.test tensorflow_tests --use_new_frontend
The command line for one operation:
py.test tensorflow_tests/test_tf_Unique.py --use_new_frontend