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Lesson 1 - Getting Started

You can use below button to open this project directly in GitPod. It will setup a rune playground for you.

Open in Gitpod

The primary way to create a Rune is by using a text file in the YAML format, referred to as a Runefile, to declare how a machine learning pipeline is configured. Below you can see a simple Runefile. You can take a quick look then we will go through every component step by step.

version: 1
image: runicos/base

pipeline:
  random_input:
    capability: RAND
    outputs:
      - type: F32
        dimensions: [1]
  serial:
    out: SERIAL
    inputs:
      - random_input

Image​

The first item in a Runefile is the image. This specifies the functionality that will be provided to the Rune by the runtime.

The only image supported at the moment is runicos/base.

image: runicos/base

Pipeline​

The main concept in a Runefile is that of the "pipeline". This is a directed acyclic graph specifying how data is transformed as it passes through the Rune.

The pipeline is a dictionary of key-value pairs where the key attaches a name to a particular stage.

Capabilities​

A capability stage is how information from the outside world enters the Rune. This may take the form of an image from the device's camera or samples from an audio file. Capabilities are specified using a capability key which dictates what type of capability it is. In the example below, we have defined capability to RAND, which will take some random input.

pipeline:
  random_input:
    capability: RAND
    outputs:
      - type: F32
        dimensions: [1]

Capabilities have the following properties:

  • args
  • outputs

In the above example, you can see only outputs. In the later chapters, you will get familiar with the args property.

Outputs​

Each stage which outputs data must specify the type of that data using the outputs property. This specifies the data type and shape of a tensor. Here, we are taking an F32 type single number as input. We have set dimensions to [1], so it will be a single number. If you want two random F32 numbers, you can change it to [2]

Out​

It is the mechanism used to pass information processed by the Rune to the outside world (e.g., the host application). Outputs are differentiated using an out: SERIAL property, where the value specifies the output type.

serial:
  out: SERIAL
  inputs:
    - rand

In summary, every system has an input and output. A system takes inputs from the outside world, performs some processing/operation, and sends back the output to the outside world. Similarly, here we have a capability that takes input from the outside world and out: SERIAL, which sends output to the outside world. In the coming lessons, we will see what kind of processing we can do in the rune and will unlock the power of rune to run complex Machine Learning models.

Build the Rune​

First, create an empty Runefile.yml and write the above code in the Runefile.

cd /workspace/tutorials/lessons/lesson-1
touch Runefile.yml

Ok, so you have written your first Runefile.yml Let's now compile and test what you have so far.

Run the below command to build the rune

rune build Runefile.yml

It will create a lesson-1.rune for you. Yay, you have built your first Rune.

Excited to test your first rune and see the output you are getting. Run the below command In the terminal.

rune run lesson-1.rune

You will get a random number every time you execute rune run lesson-1.rune.

Did you have fun building your first rune? Next, we will build a rune using an ML model.