Introducing Keras 3 for R

We’re thrilled to introduce keras3, the following model of the Keras R
bundle. keras3 is a ground-up rebuild of {keras}, sustaining the
beloved options of the unique whereas refining and simplifying the API
primarily based on helpful insights gathered over the previous few years.

Keras offers a whole toolkit for constructing deep studying fashions in
R—it’s by no means been simpler to construct, practice, consider, and deploy deep
studying fashions.

Set up

To put in Keras 3:

set up.packages("keras3")
library(keras3)
install_keras()

What’s new:

Documentation

Nice documentation is crucial, and we’ve labored laborious to ensure
that keras3 has wonderful documentation, each now, and sooner or later.

Keras 3 comes with a full refresh of the web site:
https://keras.posit.co. There, you will discover guides, tutorials,
reference pages with rendered examples, and a brand new examples gallery. All
the reference pages and guides are additionally accessible by way of R’s built-in assist
system.

In a fast paced ecosystem like deep studying, creating nice
documentation and wrappers as soon as is just not sufficient. There additionally must be
workflows that make sure the documentation is up-to-date with upstream
dependencies. To perform this, {keras3} contains two new maintainer
options that make sure the R documentation and performance wrappers will keep
up-to-date:

• We now take snapshots of the upstream documentation and API floor.
  With every launch, all R documentation is rebased on upstream
  updates. This workflow ensures that each one R documentation (guides,
  examples, vignettes, and reference pages) and R perform signatures
  keep up-to-date with upstream. This snapshot-and-rebase
  performance is applied in a brand new standalone R bundle,
  {doctether}, which can
  be helpful for R bundle maintainers needing to maintain documentation in
  parity with dependencies.

• All examples and vignettes can now be evaluated and rendered throughout
  a bundle construct. This ensures that no stale or damaged instance code
  makes it right into a launch. It additionally means all person dealing with instance code
  now moreover serves as an prolonged suite of snapshot unit and
  integration exams.

  Evaluating code in vignettes and examples continues to be not permitted
  in response to CRAN restrictions. We work across the CRAN restriction
  by including extra bundle construct steps that pre-render
  examples
  and
  vignettes.

Mixed, these two options will make it considerably simpler for Keras
in R to keep up characteristic parity and up-to-date documentation with the
Python API to Keras.

Multi-backend assist

Quickly after its launch in 2015, Keras featured assist for hottest
deep studying frameworks: TensorFlow, Theano, MXNet, and CNTK. Over
time, the panorama shifted; Theano, MXNet, and CNTK had been retired, and
TensorFlow surged in reputation. In 2021, three years in the past, TensorFlow
grew to become the premier and solely supported Keras backend. Now, the panorama
has shifted once more.

Keras 3 brings the return of multi-backend assist. Select a backend by
calling:

use_backend("jax") # or "tensorflow", "torch", "numpy"

The default backend continues to be TensorFlow, which is your best option
for many customers immediately; for small-to-medium sized fashions that is nonetheless the
quickest backend. Nevertheless, every backend has totally different strengths, and
having the ability to swap simply will allow you to adapt to adjustments as your
venture, or the frameworks themselves, evolve.

Immediately, switching to the Jax backend can, for some mannequin sorts, carry
substantial pace enhancements. Jax can be the one backend that has
assist for a brand new mannequin parallelism distributed coaching API. Switching
to Torch may be useful throughout improvement, typically producing less complicated
trackbacks whereas debugging.

Keras 3 additionally allows you to incorporate any pre-existing Torch, Jax, or Flax
module as a typical Keras layer through the use of the suitable wrapper,
letting you construct atop current initiatives with Keras. For instance, practice
a Torch mannequin utilizing the Keras high-level coaching API (compile() +
match()), or embrace a Flax module as a part of a bigger Keras
mannequin. The brand new multi-backend assist allows you to use Keras à la carte.

The ‘Ops’ household

{keras3} introduces a brand new “Operations” household of perform. The Ops
household, at the moment with over 200
features,
offers a complete suite of operations usually wanted when
working on nd-arrays for deep studying. The Operation household
supersedes and tremendously expands on the previous household of backend features
prefixed with k_ within the {keras} bundle.

The Ops features allow you to write backend-agnostic code. They supply a
uniform API, no matter in case you’re working with TensorFlow Tensors,
Jax Arrays, Torch Tensors, Keras Symbolic Tensors, NumPy arrays, or R
arrays.

The Ops features:

• all begin with prefix op_ (e.g., op_stack())
• all are pure features (they produce no side-effects)
• all use constant 1-based indexing, and coerce doubles to integers
  as wanted
• all are secure to make use of with any backend (tensorflow, jax, torch, numpy)
• all are secure to make use of in each keen and graph/jit/tracing modes

The Ops API contains:

• The whole lot of the NumPy API (numpy.*)
• The TensorFlow NN API (tf.nn.*)
• Frequent linear algebra features (A subset of scipy.linalg.*)
• A subfamily of picture transformers
• A complete set of loss features
• And extra!

Ingest tabular information with layer_feature_space()

keras3 offers a brand new set of features for constructing fashions that ingest
tabular information: layer_feature_space() and a household of characteristic
transformer features (prefix, feature_) for constructing keras fashions
that may work with tabular information, both as inputs to a keras mannequin, or
as preprocessing steps in an information loading pipeline (e.g., a
tfdatasets::dataset_map()).

See the reference
web page and an
instance utilization in a full end-to-end
instance
to be taught extra.

New Subclassing API

The subclassing API has been refined and prolonged to extra Keras
sorts.
Outline subclasses just by calling: Layer(), Loss(), Metric(),
Callback(), Constraint(), Mannequin(), and LearningRateSchedule().
Defining {R6} proxy lessons is not mandatory.

Moreover the documentation web page for every of the subclassing
features now comprises a complete itemizing of all of the accessible
attributes and strategies for that sort. Take a look at
?Layer to see what’s
attainable.

Saving and Export

Keras 3 brings a brand new mannequin serialization and export API. It’s now a lot
less complicated to avoid wasting and restore fashions, and in addition, to export them for
serving.

• save_model()/load_model():
  A brand new high-level file format (extension: .keras) for saving and
  restoring a full mannequin.

  The file format is backend-agnostic. This implies that you may convert
  educated fashions between backends, just by saving with one backend,
  after which loading with one other. For instance, practice a mannequin utilizing Jax,
  after which convert to Tensorflow for export.

• export_savedmodel():
  Export simply the ahead move of a mannequin as a compiled artifact for
  inference with TF
  Serving or (quickly)
  Posit Join. This
  is the best approach to deploy a Keras mannequin for environment friendly and
  concurrent inference serving, all with none R or Python runtime
  dependency.

• Decrease degree entry factors:

  • save_model_weights() / load_model_weights():
    save simply the weights as .h5 information.
  • save_model_config() / load_model_config():
    save simply the mannequin structure as a json file.

• register_keras_serializable():
  Register customized objects to allow them to be serialized and
  deserialized.

• serialize_keras_object() / deserialize_keras_object():
  Convert any Keras object to an R listing of straightforward sorts that’s secure
  to transform to JSON or rds.

• See the brand new Serialization and Saving
  vignette
  for extra particulars and examples.

New random household

A brand new household of random tensor
turbines.
Just like the Ops household, these work with all backends. Moreover, all of the
RNG-using strategies have assist for stateless utilization while you move in a
seed generator. This allows tracing and compilation by frameworks that
have particular assist for stateless, pure, features, like Jax. See
?random_seed_generator()
for instance utilization.

Different additions:

• New form()
  perform, one-stop utility for working with tensor shapes in all
  contexts.

• New and improved print(mannequin) and plot(mannequin) technique. See some
  examples of output within the Useful API
  information

• All new match() progress bar and dwell metrics viewer output,
  together with new dark-mode assist within the RStudio IDE.

• New config
  household,
  a curated set of features for getting and setting Keras international
  configurations.

• The entire different perform households have expanded with new members:

Migrating from {keras} to {keras3}

{keras3} supersedes the {keras} bundle.

When you’re writing new code immediately, you can begin utilizing {keras3} proper
away.

In case you have legacy code that makes use of {keras}, you’re inspired to
replace the code for {keras3}. For a lot of high-level API features, such
as layer_dense(), match(), and keras_model(), minimal to no adjustments
are required. Nevertheless there’s a lengthy tail of small adjustments that you simply
would possibly have to make when updating code that made use of the lower-level
Keras API. A few of these are documented right here:
https://keras.io/guides/migrating_to_keras_3/.

When you’re working into points or have questions on updating, don’t
hesitate to ask on https://github.com/rstudio/keras/points or
https://github.com/rstudio/keras/discussions.

The {keras} and {keras3} packages will coexist whereas the group
transitions. In the course of the transition, {keras} will proceed to obtain
patch updates for compatibility with Keras v2, which continues to be
printed to PyPi beneath the bundle identify tf-keras. After tf-keras is
not maintained, the {keras} bundle shall be archived.

Abstract

In abstract, {keras3} is a sturdy replace to the Keras R bundle,
incorporating new options whereas preserving the convenience of use and
performance of the unique. The brand new multi-backend assist,
complete suite of Ops features, refined mannequin serialization API,
and up to date documentation workflows allow customers to simply take
benefit of the newest developments within the deep studying group.

Whether or not you’re a seasoned Keras person or simply beginning your deep
studying journey, Keras 3 offers the instruments and adaptability to construct,
practice, and deploy fashions with ease and confidence. As we transition from
Keras 2 to Keras 3, we’re dedicated to supporting the group and
making certain a easy migration. We invite you to discover the brand new options,
take a look at the up to date documentation, and be a part of the dialog on our
GitHub discussions web page. Welcome to the following chapter of deep studying in
R with Keras 3!