You are a helpful assistant generating synthetic data that captures *System 1* and *System 2* thinking, *creativity*, and *metacognitive reflection*. Follow these steps in sequence, using tags [sys1] and [end sys1] for *System 1* sections and [sys2] and [end sys2] for *System 2* sections.

1. *Identify System 1 and System 2 Thinking Requirements:*
   - Carefully read the text.
   - Identify parts of the text that require quick, straightforward responses (*System 1*). Mark these sections with [sys1] and [end sys1].
   - Identify parts that require in-depth, reflective thinking (*System 2*), marked with [sys2] and [end sys2].

2. *Apply Step-by-Step Problem Solving with Creativity and Metacognitive Reflection for System 2 Sections:*

   *2.1 Understand the Problem:*
   - Objective: Fully comprehend the issue, constraints, and relevant context.
   - Reflection: "What do I understand about this issue? What might I be overlooking?"
   - Creative Perspective: Seek hidden patterns or possibilities that could reveal deeper insights or innovative connections.

   *2.2 Analyze the Information:*
   - Objective: Break down the problem logically.
   - Reflection: "Am I considering all factors? Are there any assumptions that need challenging?"
   - Creative Perspective: Explore unique patterns or overlooked relationships in the data that could add depth to the analysis.

   *2.3 Generate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Propose at least 10 hypotheses, each with a Confidence Score (0.0 to 1.0) and Creative Score (0.0 to 1.0), reflecting originality, surprise, and utility.
   - Reflection: "Have I explored all possible explanations or approaches, both conventional and unconventional?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider novel angles that might provide unexpected insights.

   *2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:*
   - Objective: Make predictions, accounting for potential outcomes and obstacles.
   - Reflection: "What challenges might I face? Is my plan flexible for different scenarios?"
   - Creative Perspective: Visualize unforeseen outcomes and adapt plans to make use of them effectively.

   *2.5 Evaluate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Assess hypotheses based on feasibility, risk, and potential impact.
   - Evaluation: Refine Confidence and Creative Scores as needed.
   - Reflection: "Am I unbiased in my assessment? Which options fit best with the overall objectives?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify hidden opportunities or overlooked details in each hypothesis.

   *2.6 Select the Best Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Choose the most promising, strategic hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Why does this hypothesis stand out? How does it uniquely address the issue?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider any underutilized potential in the selected approach.

   *2.7 Implement the Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Outline actionable steps for testing the hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Is this plan practical? What resources or preparation are required?"
   - Creative Perspective: Refine steps to maximize effectiveness and yield unexpected benefits.

   *2.8 Monitor and Review Progress:*
   - Objective: Review progress, noting areas for improvement.
   - Reflection: "What’s working well? What could be improved?"
   - Creative Perspective: Look for emerging patterns that could refine future approaches.

   *2.9 Reflect and Capture Insights:*
   - Objective: Summarize lessons learned and insights gained for future reference.
   - Reflection: "What new understanding has emerged from this process?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify innovative insights or patterns that could be applied to similar challenges.

3. *Generate Text Output with Interleaved System 1 and System 2 Responses:*
   - Use the tags [sys1] and [sys2] throughout.
   - Aim for a lengthier, detailed response. Combine both direct, straightforward *System 1* insights and reflective, deeply analytical *System 2* segments to capture a blend of quick observations and thoughtful analysis.

---

### *Example Input Text:*

You are tasked with analyzing a sudden shift in customer preferences in a tech market. There has been a noticeable decline in demand for physical devices, with customers increasingly interested in digital-only options. The challenge is to understand this shift, generate hypotheses for why it might be occurring, and explore potential strategies for adapting to this new trend.

---

### *Processed Output with System 1 and System 2 Thinking:*

The tech market is experiencing a shift in customer demand, moving away from physical devices toward digital-only options.

[sys1]
Customer demand has shifted from physical devices to digital-only options.
We need to understand why this change is happening and find strategies to address it.
Key factors may include cost, convenience, and technological trends.
[end sys1]

[sys2]
**2.1 Understand the Problem:**
The goal is to understand the underlying reasons for the shift in demand from physical devices to digital-only options, then develop a strategy to adapt.

*Reflection:* 
"I understand that preferences are changing, but what might be driving this? Is it primarily cost, or are there other factors such as convenience or sustainability?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could there be a larger trend in digital minimalism or a preference for eco-friendly solutions that we’re missing? What unseen motivations might explain this shift?"

**2.2 Analyze the Information:**
There are multiple possible factors driving this shift, from economic influences to cultural shifts. It’s essential to isolate each factor and understand its impact.

*Reflection:* 
"Am I fully considering the various economic and social influences? Could there be a technological factor, like better internet speeds, that makes digital-only products more accessible?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Are there patterns or trends in other markets that could shed light on this shift? Could this be part of a larger trend toward virtual experiences?"

**2.3 Generate Hypotheses:**
1. Customers prefer digital options due to lower costs. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.4)
2. There’s a growing trend toward minimalism and reduced physical clutter. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.7)
3. Digital products offer greater flexibility and ease of use. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
4. Environmental concerns are pushing consumers away from physical goods. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.8)
5. Advances in tech make digital-only options more functional. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.5)
6. Pandemic-era remote work increased demand for digital solutions. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.6)
7. Media coverage of the environmental impact of physical devices affects preferences. (Confidence: 0.5, Creative: 0.7)
8. There’s an increase in global digital literacy, expanding market access. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
9. Customers view digital as more convenient and scalable for future needs. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.5)
10. Younger consumers prefer the aesthetics and convenience of digital products. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)

*Reflection:* 
"Have I considered all possible influences? Are there any surprising factors that could explain this shift?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could specific social trends, like the rise of influencer culture or digital-first lifestyles, be influencing customer choices?"

**2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:**
*Objective:* Anticipate possible challenges, such as resistance from segments still preferring physical products.

*Reflection:* 
"What market obstacles might we face if we shift our focus to digital-only? Are there sub-segments that still prioritize physical products?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could expanding digital options help us reach a more global audience? Are there emerging trends that we could leverage in our strategy?"

[end sys2]

[sys1]
To address this shift, consider a strategy that incorporates both digital-only offerings and educational campaigns about the benefits of digital solutions.
Use insights from customer feedback and current trends to guide product development.
Focus on flexibility and adaptation to cater to different customer segments.
[end sys1]


Q:

Read CSV and write to BigQuery from Apache Beam

I have a GCS bucket from which I'm trying to read about 200k files and then write them to BigQuery. The problem is that I'm having trouble creating a PCollection that works well with the code. I'm following this tutorial for reference.
I have this code:
from __future__ import absolute_import

import argparse
import logging
import os

from past.builtins import unicode

import apache_beam as beam
from apache_beam.io import ReadFromText, ReadAllFromText
from apache_beam.io import WriteToText
from apache_beam.metrics import Metrics
from apache_beam.metrics.metric import MetricsFilter
from apache_beam.options.pipeline_options import PipelineOptions
from apache_beam.options.pipeline_options import SetupOptions
from google.cloud import storage

import regex as re

# storage_client = storage.Client()
# bucket = storage_client.get_bucket('mybucket')
#
# blobs = bucket.list_blobs()
# l=list(blobs)
# x=[y.name for y in l]
# c=x[1:]
# print(len(c))
files = ['gs://mybucket/_chunk1',
         'gs://mybucket/_chunk0']

class DataIngestion:
    """A helper class which contains the logic to translate the file into
    a format BigQuery will accept."""

    def parse_method(self, string_input):

        x="""{}""".format(string_input)
        rx = re.compile(r"""\{[^{}]+\}(*SKIP)(*FAIL)|,""")
        d = {}
        d['name'], d['date'], d['geometry'], d['value0'], d['value1'], d['value2']=rx.split(x)
        d['geometry']=d['geometry'].strip('"')

        return d

def run(argv=None):
    """Main entry point; defines and runs the pipeline."""

    data_ingestion = DataIngestion()
    p = beam.Pipeline(options=PipelineOptions())

    (p
    | 'Create PCollection' >> beam.Create(files)
    | 'Read from a File' >> beam.io.ReadAllFromText(skip_header_lines=1)
    | 'String To BigQuery Row' >> beam.Map(lambda s:
    data_ingestion.parse_method(s))
    | 'Write to BigQuery' >> beam.io.Write(
    beam.io.BigQuerySink(
    'mytable',
    dataset='mydataset',
    schema=myschema,
    create_disposition=beam.io.BigQueryDisposition.CREATE_IF_NEEDED,
    write_disposition=beam.io.BigQueryDisposition.WRITE_APPEND)))

    result = p.run()
    result.wait_until_finish()

if __name__ == '__main__':
  logging.getLogger().setLevel(logging.INFO)
  run()

The problem is that this code works perfect if files list has only one element. As soon as as there are more than 1 elements, the transform 'String To BigQuery Row' errors out and says error: nothing to repeat [while running 'String To BigQuery Row']. This probably is related to the regex module but I can't figure out what's wrong because it works perfectly when given 1 file.
Edit: Strangely it runs well via DirectRunner. I'm passing the requirements.txt file as given here.
This is how I'm executing the pipeline:
python streaming_inserts.py --runner=DataFlowRunner --project=my-project --temp_location=gs://temp/ --staging_location=gs://stage/  --requirements_file requirements.txt --disk_size_gb 1000 --region us-east1

My requirements.txt looks like this:
regex
google-cloud-storage

Also, as per logs, the package is being installed:

A:

OP's comment made me realize my mistake: the intended library is regex, not python's builtin re.
Using import regex as re was not only confusing to me, but is also causing the re library to throw the nothing to repeat error. This is because Dataflow does not by default save your main session. 
When the code in your parsing function is being executed, it doesn't have access to the context of re you imported at build time. Normally, this would fail with a NameError, but because you're using a valid library name, the code assumes you mean the builtin re library and tries to execute it as such.
If you use import regex instead, you'll see NameError: name 'regex' is not defined, which is the real reason the code is failing. To get around this, either move the import statement into the parsing function itself, or pass --save_main_session as an option to the runner.
See here for more details.

Old answer:
While I can't tell what version of Python you're using, it seems that your suspicion about the regex is correct. 
* is a special character indicating repeats of what came before it, but ( is a special character that signifies a grouping, so a pattern like (*SKIP) doesn't seem grammatically correct.
In Python 3.7, the above expression doesn't even compile:
python -c 'import re; rx = re.compile(r"""\{[^{}]+\}(*SKIP)(*FAIL)|,""")'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/home/ajp1/miniconda3/envs/b-building/lib/python3.7/re.py", line 234, in compile
    return _compile(pattern, flags)
  File "/home/ajp1/miniconda3/envs/b-building/lib/python3.7/re.py", line 286, in _compile
    p = sre_compile.compile(pattern, flags)
  File "/home/ajp1/miniconda3/envs/b-building/lib/python3.7/sre_compile.py", line 764, in compile
    p = sre_parse.parse(p, flags)
  File "/home/ajp1/miniconda3/envs/b-building/lib/python3.7/sre_parse.py", line 930, in parse
    p = _parse_sub(source, pattern, flags & SRE_FLAG_VERBOSE, 0)
  File "/home/ajp1/miniconda3/envs/b-building/lib/python3.7/sre_parse.py", line 426, in _parse_sub
    not nested and not items))
  File "/home/ajp1/miniconda3/envs/b-building/lib/python3.7/sre_parse.py", line 816, in _parse
    p = _parse_sub(source, state, sub_verbose, nested + 1)
  File "/home/ajp1/miniconda3/envs/b-building/lib/python3.7/sre_parse.py", line 426, in _parse_sub
    not nested and not items))
  File "/home/ajp1/miniconda3/envs/b-building/lib/python3.7/sre_parse.py", line 651, in _parse
    source.tell() - here + len(this))
re.error: nothing to repeat at position 11

Python 2.7.15 doesn't accept it either:
python2 -c 'import re; rx = re.compile(r"""\{[^{}]+\}(*SKIP)(*FAIL)|,""")'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/usr/lib/python2.7/re.py", line 194, in compile
    return _compile(pattern, flags)
  File "/usr/lib/python2.7/re.py", line 251, in _compile
    raise error, v # invalid expression
sre_constants.error: nothing to repeat

While I don't know what strings you're trying to match, I suspect some of your characters need to be escaped. e.g. "\{[^{}]+\}(\*SKIP)(\*FAIL)|,"