Title: Avoid stuck map operation when subprocesses crashes
Author: pappacena (CONTRIBUTOR)
State: closed
Created: 2023-06-21T21:18:31Z

I've been using Dataset.map() with `num_proc=os.cpu_count()` to leverage multicore processing for my datasets, but from time to time I get stuck processes waiting forever. Apparently, when one of the subprocesses is abruptly killed (OOM killer, segfault, SIGKILL, etc), the main process keeps waiting for the async task sent to that child process to finish.

It seems to be easy to reproduce the issue with the following script:

```
import os
from datasets import Dataset, Features, Value


def do_stuck(item):
    os.kill(os.getpid(), 9)

data = {
    "col1": list(range(5)),
    "col2": list(range(5)),
}

ds = Dataset.from_dict(
    data,
    features=Features({
        "col1": Value("int64"),
        "col2": Value("int64"),
    }),
)

print(ds.map(do_stuck, num_proc=4))
```

This is an old behavior in Python, which apparently was fixed a few years ago in `concurrent.futures.ProcessPoolExecutor` ([ref](https://bugs.python.org/issue9205)), but not in `multiprocessing.pool.Pool` / `multiprocess.pool.Pool`, which is used by `Dataset.map` ([ref](https://bugs.python.org/issue22393)).

This PR is an idea to try to detect when a child process gets killed, and raises a `RuntimeError` warning the dataset.map() caller.

EDIT: Related proposal for future improvement: https://github.com/huggingface/datasets/discussions/5977

Comments:
Hi ! Do you think this can be fixed at the Pool level ? Ideally it should be the Pool responsibility to handle this, not the `map` code. We could even subclass Pool if needed (at least the one from `multiprocess`)

@lhoestq it makes sense to me. Just pushed a refactoring creating a `class ProcessPool(multiprocess.pool.Pool)` to keep track of the PID changes.

_The documentation is not available anymore as the PR was closed or merged._

I managed to raise an error without subclassing Pool with two additions to `iflatmap_unordered`:

1. at the beggining
```python
original_pool = list(pool._pool)
```

2. in the loop
```python
if any(async_result._pool != original_pool for async_result in async_results) and queue.empty():
    raise RuntimeError(
        "One of the subprocesses has abruptly died during map operation."
        "To debug the error, disable multiprocessing."
    )
```

It's still a fix that only works for `iflatmap_unordered` (so not for map, imap etc) but is maybe simpler that subclassing. It also works for both multiprocessing.Pool and multiprocess.Pool

@lhoestq sorry for the delay. Busy weeks here. 

I just pushed the change you requested. It looks closer to the original proposal, actually.

It seems that `map` actually uses `iflatmap_unordered` ([here](https://github.com/huggingface/datasets/blob/819bb4346434912eb405ce3f3e9f21dc25a2fe85/src/datasets/arrow_dataset.py#L1509)). I think this solution works fine for the `map` method (which is the one being tested by the new `tests/test_arrow_dataset.py::BaseDatasetTest::test_map_crash_subprocess`, right?).

Yes fixing iflatmap_unordered does fix Dataset.map, but it won't fix any Pool.map that we may use elsewhere so we'll have to keep this in mind.

It looks all good to me, feel free to fix code formatting by running `make style` and we can merge :)

> Yes fixing iflatmap_unordered does fix Dataset.map, but it won't fix any Pool.map that we may use elsewhere so we'll have to keep this in mind.

Right, I agree. The best way moving forward is probably not using the buggy `multiprocess.Pool` anymore, and replace it with `concurrent.futures.ProcessPoolExecutor` as much as possible.

Anyway, I've run `make style` now. Thanks for the support!

It looks like checking the async_result._pool doesn't always work - sorry about that. We might just go back to your original solution then. Would also be cool to open an issue in `multiprocess` to ask if they have a solution or if they plan to fix this.

@lhoestq no problem! Reverted to the previous version.

TBH, given the discussions [in this python issue](https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/66587), I don't think the error in `multiprocess` will be merged upstream any time soon...

<details>
<summary>Show benchmarks</summary>

PyArrow==8.0.0

<details>
<summary>Show updated benchmarks!</summary>

### Benchmark: benchmark_array_xd.json

| metric | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_batch_unformated after write_array2d | read_batch_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_batch_unformated after write_nested_sequence | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_col_unformated after write_array2d | read_col_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_col_unformated after write_nested_sequence | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_unformated after write_array2d | read_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_unformated after write_nested_sequence | write_array2d | write_flattened_sequence | write_nested_sequence |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.006060 / 0.011353 (-0.005293) | 0.003695 / 0.011008 (-0.007313) | 0.080484 / 0.038508 (0.041976) | 0.061894 / 0.023109 (0.038785) | 0.312510 / 0.275898 (0.036612) | 0.352398 / 0.323480 (0.028918) | 0.004638 / 0.007986 (-0.003348) | 0.002918 / 0.004328 (-0.001410) | 0.062932 / 0.004250 (0.058681) | 0.050859 / 0.037052 (0.013807) | 0.316812 / 0.258489 (0.058323) | 0.357684 / 0.293841 (0.063843) | 0.027622 / 0.128546 (-0.100924) | 0.008012 / 0.075646 (-0.067634) | 0.260970 / 0.419271 (-0.158302) | 0.045807 / 0.043533 (0.002275) | 0.321235 / 0.255139 (0.066096) | 0.343162 / 0.283200 (0.059962) | 0.021136 / 0.141683 (-0.120547) | 1.465886 / 1.452155 (0.013731) | 1.500216 / 1.492716 (0.007500) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_getitem\_100B.json

| metric | get_batch_of\_1024\_random_rows | get_batch_of\_1024\_rows | get_first_row | get_last_row |
|--------|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.187286 / 0.018006 (0.169279) | 0.428724 / 0.000490 (0.428235) | 0.003029 / 0.000200 (0.002829) | 0.000063 / 0.000054 (0.000008) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_indices_mapping.json

| metric | select | shard | shuffle | sort | train_test_split |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.022703 / 0.037411 (-0.014708) | 0.072740 / 0.014526 (0.058215) | 0.083436 / 0.176557 (-0.093120) | 0.144559 / 0.737135 (-0.592577) | 0.083958 / 0.296338 (-0.212380) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_iterating.json

| metric | read 5000 | read 50000 | read_batch 50000 10 | read_batch 50000 100 | read_batch 50000 1000 | read_formatted numpy 5000 | read_formatted pandas 5000 | read_formatted tensorflow 5000 | read_formatted torch 5000 | read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 10 | read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 1000 | shuffled read 5000 | shuffled read 50000 | shuffled read_batch 50000 10 | shuffled read_batch 50000 100 | shuffled read_batch 50000 1000 | shuffled read_formatted numpy 5000 | shuffled read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 10 | shuffled read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 1000 |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.435729 / 0.215209 (0.220520) | 4.351146 / 2.077655 (2.273491) | 2.316627 / 1.504120 (0.812508) | 2.144587 / 1.541195 (0.603393) | 2.209182 / 1.468490 (0.740692) | 0.501131 / 4.584777 (-4.083646) | 3.077085 / 3.745712 (-0.668627) | 4.353706 / 5.269862 (-0.916156) | 2.621523 / 4.565676 (-1.944154) | 0.058976 / 0.424275 (-0.365299) | 0.006467 / 0.007607 (-0.001141) | 0.506690 / 0.226044 (0.280646) | 5.085787 / 2.268929 (2.816858) | 2.731336 / 55.444624 (-52.713289) | 2.419451 / 6.876477 (-4.457025) | 2.583649 / 2.142072 (0.441577) | 0.589869 / 4.805227 (-4.215359) | 0.131040 / 6.500664 (-6.369624) | 0.061332 / 0.075469 (-0.014137) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_map_filter.json

| metric | filter | map fast-tokenizer batched | map identity | map identity batched | map no-op batched | map no-op batched numpy | map no-op batched pandas | map no-op batched pytorch | map no-op batched tensorflow |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 1.220542 / 1.841788 (-0.621245) | 18.169643 / 8.074308 (10.095335) | 13.251704 / 10.191392 (3.060312) | 0.142952 / 0.680424 (-0.537472) | 0.016639 / 0.534201 (-0.517562) | 0.334851 / 0.579283 (-0.244432) | 0.361865 / 0.434364 (-0.072499) | 0.380933 / 0.540337 (-0.159404) | 0.527374 / 1.386936 (-0.859562) |

</details>
PyArrow==latest

<details>
<summary>Show updated benchmarks!</summary>

### Benchmark: benchmark_array_xd.json

| metric | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_batch_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_batch_unformated after write_array2d | read_batch_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_batch_unformated after write_nested_sequence | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_col_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_col_unformated after write_array2d | read_col_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_col_unformated after write_nested_sequence | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_array2d | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_flattened_sequence | read_formatted_as_numpy after write_nested_sequence | read_unformated after write_array2d | read_unformated after write_flattened_sequence | read_unformated after write_nested_sequence | write_array2d | write_flattened_sequence | write_nested_sequence |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.006319 / 0.011353 (-0.005034) | 0.003778 / 0.011008 (-0.007231) | 0.062388 / 0.038508 (0.023880) | 0.062228 / 0.023109 (0.039119) | 0.373727 / 0.275898 (0.097829) | 0.399442 / 0.323480 (0.075962) | 0.005434 / 0.007986 (-0.002551) | 0.003020 / 0.004328 (-0.001308) | 0.062774 / 0.004250 (0.058524) | 0.052784 / 0.037052 (0.015732) | 0.376428 / 0.258489 (0.117939) | 0.405039 / 0.293841 (0.111198) | 0.027884 / 0.128546 (-0.100662) | 0.008086 / 0.075646 (-0.067561) | 0.067078 / 0.419271 (-0.352194) | 0.042927 / 0.043533 (-0.000606) | 0.372142 / 0.255139 (0.117003) | 0.389604 / 0.283200 (0.106405) | 0.021582 / 0.141683 (-0.120101) | 1.473332 / 1.452155 (0.021177) | 1.536018 / 1.492716 (0.043302) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_getitem\_100B.json

| metric | get_batch_of\_1024\_random_rows | get_batch_of\_1024\_rows | get_first_row | get_last_row |
|--------|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.184729 / 0.018006 (0.166723) | 0.421065 / 0.000490 (0.420575) | 0.002681 / 0.000200 (0.002481) | 0.000070 / 0.000054 (0.000015) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_indices_mapping.json

| metric | select | shard | shuffle | sort | train_test_split |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.026067 / 0.037411 (-0.011344) | 0.077138 / 0.014526 (0.062612) | 0.085178 / 0.176557 (-0.091379) | 0.139681 / 0.737135 (-0.597454) | 0.087528 / 0.296338 (-0.208810) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_iterating.json

| metric | read 5000 | read 50000 | read_batch 50000 10 | read_batch 50000 100 | read_batch 50000 1000 | read_formatted numpy 5000 | read_formatted pandas 5000 | read_formatted tensorflow 5000 | read_formatted torch 5000 | read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 10 | read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 1000 | shuffled read 5000 | shuffled read 50000 | shuffled read_batch 50000 10 | shuffled read_batch 50000 100 | shuffled read_batch 50000 1000 | shuffled read_formatted numpy 5000 | shuffled read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 10 | shuffled read_formatted_batch numpy 5000 1000 |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 0.444899 / 0.215209 (0.229690) | 4.459168 / 2.077655 (2.381513) | 2.408792 / 1.504120 (0.904672) | 2.237243 / 1.541195 (0.696048) | 2.296298 / 1.468490 (0.827808) | 0.498508 / 4.584777 (-4.086269) | 3.067064 / 3.745712 (-0.678648) | 4.470577 / 5.269862 (-0.799284) | 2.701972 / 4.565676 (-1.863705) | 0.057711 / 0.424275 (-0.366564) | 0.006443 / 0.007607 (-0.001164) | 0.524046 / 0.226044 (0.298002) | 5.229928 / 2.268929 (2.961000) | 2.862101 / 55.444624 (-52.582523) | 2.545972 / 6.876477 (-4.330504) | 2.606459 / 2.142072 (0.464387) | 0.593285 / 4.805227 (-4.211942) | 0.124913 / 6.500664 (-6.375751) | 0.061942 / 0.075469 (-0.013527) |

### Benchmark: benchmark_map_filter.json

| metric | filter | map fast-tokenizer batched | map identity | map identity batched | map no-op batched | map no-op batched numpy | map no-op batched pandas | map no-op batched pytorch | map no-op batched tensorflow |
|--------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| new / old (diff) | 1.322162 / 1.841788 (-0.519625) | 18.745796 / 8.074308 (10.671488) | 13.955443 / 10.191392 (3.764051) | 0.145610 / 0.680424 (-0.534814) | 0.016817 / 0.534201 (-0.517384) | 0.331180 / 0.579283 (-0.248103) | 0.343019 / 0.434364 (-0.091345) | 0.379459 / 0.540337 (-0.160878) | 0.526403 / 1.386936 (-0.860533) |

</details>
</details>

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