The differentiation transform does the following:
- Canonicalizes differentiability witnesses by filling in missing derivative
function entries.
- Canonicalizes `differentiable_function` instructions by filling in missing
derivative function operands.
- If necessary, performs automatic differentiation: generating derivative
functions for original functions.
- When encountering non-differentiability code, produces a diagnostic and
errors out.
Partially resolves TF-1211: add the main canonicalization loop.
To incrementally stage changes, derivative functions are currently created
with empty bodies that fatal error with a nice message.
Derivative emitters will be upstreamed separately.
Previously, two conditions were necessary to enable differentiable programming:
- Using the `-enable-experimental-differentiable-programming` frontend flag.
- Importing the `_Differentiation` module.
Importing the `_Differentiation` module is the true condition because it
contains the required compiler-known `Differentiable` protocol. The frontend
flag is redundant and cumbersome.
Now, the frontend flag is removed.
Importing `_Differentiation` is the only condition.
* Add all [differential operators](https://github.com/apple/swift/blob/master/docs/DifferentiableProgramming.md#list-of-differential-operators).
* Add `withoutDerivative(at:)`, used for efficiently stopping the derivative propagation at a value and causing the derivative at the value to be zero.
* Add utility `differentiableFunction(from:)`, used for creating a `@differentiable` function from an original function and a derivative function.
Mostly work done by @marcrasi and @dan-zheng.
Partially resolves TF-843.
TODO:
* Add `AnyDerivative`.
* Add `Array.differentiableMap(_:)` and `differentiableReduce(_:_:)`.
Add `Differentiable` conformances for floating-point types to the
`_Differentiation` module. The `TangentVector` associated type for
floating-point types is `Self`.
This design adheres to the differentiable programming manifesto:
docs/DifferentiableProgramming.md.
Partially resolves TF-1052.
The `_Differentiation` module is the experimental support library for
differentiable programming. It is built when the build-script flag
`--enable-experimental-differentiable-programming` is enabled.
The `Differentiable` protocol generalizes all types that work with
differentiation. It is a core piece of the differentiable programming
project. Other parts depending on the `Differentiable` protocol will
be upstreamed piece by piece.
The `Differentiable` protocol is compiler-known and will be used during
type-checking, SILGen, and the SIL differentiation transform.
