| Taskflow: A General-purpose Task-parallel Programming System

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A General-purpose Task-parallel Programming System

Taskflow helps you quickly write high-performance task-parallel programs with high programming productivity. It is faster, more expressive, fewer lines of code, and easier for drop-in integration than many of existing task programming libraries. The source code is available in our Project GitHub.

# Start Your First Taskflow Program

The following program (`simple.cpp`) creates a taskflow of four tasks `A`, `B`, `C`, and `D`, where `A` runs before `B` and `C`, and `D` runs after `B` and `C`. When `A` finishes, `B` and `C` can run in parallel.

#include <taskflow/taskflow.hpp> // Taskflow is header-only
int main(){
tf::Executor executor;
tf::Taskflow taskflow;
auto [A, B, C, D] = taskflow.emplace( // create four tasks
[] () { std::cout << "TaskA\n"; },
[] () { std::cout << "TaskB\n"; },
[] () { std::cout << "TaskC\n"; },
[] () { std::cout << "TaskD\n"; }
);
A.precede(B, C); // A runs before B and C
D.succeed(B, C); // D runs after B and C
executor.run(taskflow).wait();
return 0;
}
tf::Executor
class to create an executor
Definition executor.hpp:62
tf::Executor::run
tf::Future< void > run(Taskflow &taskflow)
runs a taskflow once
tf::FlowBuilder::emplace
Task emplace(C &&callable)
creates a static task
Definition flow_builder.hpp:1738
tf::Task::succeed
Task & succeed(Ts &&... tasks)
adds precedence links from other tasks to this
Definition task.hpp:1313
tf::Task::precede
Task & precede(Ts &&... tasks)
adds precedence links from this to other tasks
Definition task.hpp:1305
tf::Taskflow
class to create a taskflow object
Definition taskflow.hpp:64

Taskflow is header-only and there is no struggle with installation. To compile the program, clone the Taskflow project and tell the compiler to include the headers under `taskflow/`.

~$ git clone https://github.com/taskflow/taskflow.git # clone it only once
~$ g++ -std=c++20 simple.cpp -I taskflow/ -O2 -pthread -o simple
~$ ./simple
TaskA
TaskC
TaskB
TaskD

Taskflow comes with a built-in profiler, Taskflow Profiler, for you to profile and visualize taskflow programs in an easy-to-use web-based interface.

# run the program with the environment variable TF_ENABLE_PROFILER enabled
~$ TF_ENABLE_PROFILER=simple.tfp ./simple
# drag the generated tfp file to https://taskflow.github.io/tfprof/

Watch a quick-start video to learn Taskflow programming in just 5 minutes:

# Create a Subflow Graph

Taskflow supports recursive tasking for you to create a subflow graph from the execution of a task to perform recursive parallelism. The following program spawns a task dependency graph parented at task `B`.

tf::Task A = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("A");
tf::Task C = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("C");
tf::Task D = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("D");
tf::Task B = taskflow.emplace([] (tf::Subflow& subflow) { // subflow task B
tf::Task B1 = subflow.emplace([](){}).name("B1");
tf::Task B2 = subflow.emplace([](){}).name("B2");
tf::Task B3 = subflow.emplace([](){}).name("B3");
B3.succeed(B1, B2); // B3 runs after B1 and B2
}).name("B");
A.precede(B, C); // A runs before B and C
D.succeed(B, C); // D runs after B and C
tf::Task
class to create a task handle over a taskflow node
Definition task.hpp:569

# Integrate Control Flow into a Task Graph

Taskflow supports conditional tasking for you to make rapid control-flow decisions across dependent tasks to implement cycles and conditions in an end-to-end task graph.

tf::Task init = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("init");
tf::Task stop = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("stop");
// creates a condition task that returns a random binary
tf::Task cond = taskflow.emplace([](){ return std::rand() % 2; }).name("cond");
// creates a feedback loop {0: cond, 1: stop}
init.precede(cond);
cond.precede(cond, stop); // moves on to 'cond' on returning 0, or 'stop' on 1

# Compose Task Graphs

Taskflow is composable. You can create large parallel graphs through composition of modular and reusable blocks that are easier to optimize at an individual scope.

tf::Taskflow f1, f2;
// create taskflow f1 of two tasks
tf::Task f1A = f1.emplace([]() { std::cout << "Task f1A\n"; }).name("f1A");
tf::Task f1B = f1.emplace([]() { std::cout << "Task f1B\n"; }).name("f1B");
// create taskflow f2 with one module task composed of f1
tf::Task f2A = f2.emplace([]() { std::cout << "Task f2A\n"; }).name("f2A");
tf::Task f2B = f2.emplace([]() { std::cout << "Task f2B\n"; }).name("f2B");
tf::Task f2C = f2.emplace([]() { std::cout << "Task f2C\n"; }).name("f2C");
tf::Task f1_module_task = f2.composed_of(f1).name("module");
f1_module_task.succeed(f2A, f2B)
.precede(f2C);
tf::FlowBuilder::composed_of
Task composed_of(T &object)
creates a module task for the target object
Definition flow_builder.hpp:1788
tf::Task::name
const std::string & name() const
queries the name of the task
Definition task.hpp:1435

# Launch Asynchronous Tasks

Taskflow supports asynchronous tasking. You can launch tasks asynchronously to dynamically explore task graph parallelism.

tf::Executor executor;
// create asynchronous tasks directly from an executor
std::future<int> future = executor.async([](){
std::cout << "async task returns 1\n";
return 1;
});
executor.silent_async([](){ std::cout << "async task does not return\n"; });
// create asynchronous tasks with dynamic dependencies
tf::AsyncTask A = executor.silent_dependent_async([](){ printf("A\n"); });
tf::AsyncTask B = executor.silent_dependent_async([](){ printf("B\n"); }, A);
tf::AsyncTask C = executor.silent_dependent_async([](){ printf("C\n"); }, A);
tf::AsyncTask D = executor.silent_dependent_async([](){ printf("D\n"); }, B, C);
executor.wait_for_all();
tf::Executor::silent_async
void silent_async(P &&params, F &&func)
similar to tf::Executor::async but does not return a future object
tf::Executor::silent_dependent_async
tf::AsyncTask silent_dependent_async(F &&func, Tasks &&... tasks)
runs the given function asynchronously when the given predecessors finish
tf::Executor::wait_for_all
void wait_for_all()
waits for all tasks to complete
tf::Executor::async
auto async(P &&params, F &&func)
creates a parameterized asynchronous task to run the given function

# Leverage Standard Parallel Algorithms

Taskflow defines algorithms for you to quickly express common parallel patterns using standard C++ syntaxes, such as parallel iterations, parallel reductions, and parallel sort.

// standard parallel CPU algorithms
tf::Task task1 = taskflow.for_each( // assign each element to 100 in parallel
first, last, [] (auto& i) { i = 100; }
);
tf::Task task2 = taskflow.reduce( // reduce a range of items in parallel
first, last, init, [] (auto a, auto b) { return a + b; }
);
tf::Task task3 = taskflow.sort( // sort a range of items in parallel
first, last, [] (auto a, auto b) { return a < b; }
);
tf::FlowBuilder::sort
Task sort(B first, E last, C cmp)
constructs a dynamic task to perform STL-styled parallel sort
tf::FlowBuilder::for_each
Task for_each(B first, E last, C callable, P part=P())
constructs an STL-styled parallel-for task
tf::FlowBuilder::reduce
Task reduce(B first, E last, T &init, O bop, P part=P())
constructs an STL-styled parallel-reduction task

Additionally, Taskflow provides composable graph building blocks for you to efficiently implement common parallel algorithms, such as parallel pipeline.

// create a pipeline to propagate five tokens through three serial stages
tf::Pipeline pl(num_lines,
tf::Pipe{tf::PipeType::SERIAL, [](tf::Pipeflow& pf) {
if(pf.token() == 5) {
pf.stop();
}
}},
tf::Pipe{tf::PipeType::SERIAL, [](tf::Pipeflow& pf) {
printf("stage 2: input buffer[%zu] = %d\n", pf.line(), buffer[pf.line()]);
}},
tf::Pipe{tf::PipeType::SERIAL, [](tf::Pipeflow& pf) {
printf("stage 3: input buffer[%zu] = %d\n", pf.line(), buffer[pf.line()]);
}}
);
taskflow.composed_of(pl)
executor.run(taskflow).wait();
tf::Pipe
class to create a pipe object for a pipeline stage
Definition pipeline.hpp:144
tf::Pipeflow
class to create a pipeflow object used by the pipe callable
Definition pipeline.hpp:43
tf::Pipeline
class to create a pipeline scheduling framework
Definition pipeline.hpp:307
tf::PipeType::SERIAL
@ SERIAL
serial type
Definition pipeline.hpp:117

# Run a Taskflow through an Executor

The executor provides several thread-safe methods to run a taskflow. You can run a taskflow once, multiple times, or until a stopping criteria is met. These methods are non-blocking with a `tf::Future<void>` return to let you query the execution status.

// runs the taskflow once
tf::Future<void> run_once = executor.run(taskflow);
// wait on this run to finish
run_once.get();
// run the taskflow four times
executor.run_n(taskflow, 4);
// runs the taskflow five times
executor.run_until(taskflow, [counter=5](){ return --counter == 0; });
// blocks the executor until all submitted taskflows complete
executor.wait_for_all();
tf::Executor::run_until
tf::Future< void > run_until(Taskflow &taskflow, P &&pred)
runs a taskflow multiple times until the predicate becomes true
tf::Executor::run_n
tf::Future< void > run_n(Taskflow &taskflow, size_t N)
runs a taskflow for N times
tf::Future
class to access the result of an execution
Definition taskflow.hpp:640

# Offload Tasks to a GPU

Taskflow supports GPU tasking for you to accelerate a wide range of scientific computing applications by harnessing the power of CPU-GPU collaborative computing using Nvidia CUDA Graph.

__global__ void saxpy(int n, float a, float *x, float *y) {
int i = blockIdx.x*blockDim.x + threadIdx.x;
if (i < n) {
y[i] = a*x[i] + y[i];
}
}
// create a CUDA Graph task
tf::Task cudaflow = taskflow.emplace([&]() {
tf::cudaGraph cg;
tf::cudaTask h2d_x = cg.copy(dx, hx.data(), N);
tf::cudaTask h2d_y = cg.copy(dy, hy.data(), N);
tf::cudaTask d2h_x = cg.copy(hx.data(), dx, N);
tf::cudaTask d2h_y = cg.copy(hy.data(), dy, N);
tf::cudaTask saxpy = cg.kernel((N+255)/256, 256, 0, saxpy, N, 2.0f, dx, dy);
saxpy.succeed(h2d_x, h2d_y)
.precede(d2h_x, d2h_y);
// instantiate an executable CUDA graph and run it through a stream
tf::cudaGraphExec exec(cg);
tf::cudaStream stream;
stream.run(exec).synchronize();
}).name("CUDA Graph Task");
tf::cudaGraphBase::copy
cudaTask copy(T *tgt, const T *src, size_t num)
creates a memcopy task that copies typed data
Definition cuda_graph.hpp:1075
tf::cudaGraphBase::kernel
cudaTask kernel(dim3 g, dim3 b, size_t s, F f, ArgsT... args)
creates a kernel task
Definition cuda_graph.hpp:1010
tf::cudaStreamBase::synchronize
cudaStreamBase & synchronize()
synchronizes the associated stream
Definition cuda_stream.hpp:232
tf::cudaStreamBase::run
cudaStreamBase & run(const cudaGraphExecBase< C, D > &exec)
runs the given executable CUDA graph
tf::cudaTask::succeed
cudaTask & succeed(Ts &&... tasks)
adds precedence links from other tasks to this
Definition cuda_graph.hpp:418
tf::cudaTask::precede
cudaTask & precede(Ts &&... tasks)
adds precedence links from this to other tasks
Definition cuda_graph.hpp:407
tf::cudaGraphExec
cudaGraphExecBase< cudaGraphExecCreator, cudaGraphExecDeleter > cudaGraphExec
default smart pointer type to manage a cudaGraphExec_t object with unique ownership
Definition cudaflow.hpp:23
tf::cudaGraph
cudaGraphBase< cudaGraphCreator, cudaGraphDeleter > cudaGraph
default smart pointer type to manage a cudaGraph_t object with unique ownership
Definition cudaflow.hpp:18
tf::cudaStream
cudaStreamBase< cudaStreamCreator, cudaStreamDeleter > cudaStream
default smart pointer type to manage a cudaStream_t object with unique ownership
Definition cuda_stream.hpp:340

# Visualize Taskflow Graphs

You can dump a taskflow graph to a DOT format and visualize it using a number of free GraphViz tools such as GraphViz Online.

tf::Taskflow taskflow;
tf::Task A = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("A");
tf::Task B = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("B");
tf::Task C = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("C");
tf::Task D = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("D");
tf::Task E = taskflow.emplace([](){}).name("E");
A.precede(B, C, E);
C.precede(D);
B.precede(D, E);
// dump the graph to a DOT file through std::cout
taskflow.dump(std::cout);
tf::Taskflow::dump
void dump(std::ostream &ostream) const
dumps the taskflow to a DOT format through a std::ostream target
Definition taskflow.hpp:433

# Supported Compilers

To use Taskflow v4.0.0, you need a compiler that supports C++20:

- GNU C++ Compiler at least v11.0 with -std=c++20
- Clang C++ Compiler at least v12.0 with -std=c++20
- Microsoft Visual Studio at least v19.29 (VS 2019) with /std:c++20
- Apple Clang (Xcode) at least v13.0 with -std=c++20
- NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit and Compiler (nvcc) at least v12.0 with host compiler supporting C++20
- Intel oneAPI DPC++/C++ Compiler at least v2022.0 with -std=c++20

Taskflow works on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.

# Get Involved

Visit our Project Website and showcase presentation to learn more about Taskflow. To get involved:

- See release notes at Release Notes
- Read the step-by-step tutorial at Cookbook
- Submit an issue at issue tracker
- Learn more about our technical details at References
- Watch our 2020 CppCon Taskflow Talk and 2020 MUC++ Taskflow Talk

We are committed to support trustworthy developments for both academic and industrial research projects in parallel and heterogeneous computing. If you are using Taskflow, please cite the following paper we published at 2022 IEEE TPDS:

- Tsung-Wei Huang, Dian-Lun Lin, Chun-Xun Lin, and Yibo Lin, "Taskflow: A Lightweight Parallel and Heterogeneous Task Graph Computing System," IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems (TPDS), vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 1303-1320, June 2022

More importantly, we appreciate all Taskflow Contributors and the following organizations for sponsoring the Taskflow project!

# License

Taskflow is open-source the under permissive MIT license. You are completely free to use, modify, and redistribute any work on top of Taskflow. The source code is available in Project GitHub and is actively maintained by Dr. Tsung-Wei Huang and his research group at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.