CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonjuliapyinstallerpackagecompiler.jl
Heliton Martins
Heliton Martins

Reputation: 1221

Distribute a standalone Python software with Julia dependencies

I have a software that is mostly written in Python and, for now, I'm using PyInstaller to bundle and distribute the software in a user-friendly way (it's part of my CI pipeline, for Linux and Windows).

However, my performance is terrible and I want to rewrite some heavy parts in Julia while keeping the front-end in Python. I can use PyJulia to do this, but it means that the user has to install Julia manually in order to use my program.

Julia does have the equivalent of PyInstaller, which is PackageCompiler.jl, but I don't know how to call something compiled with PackageCompiler.jl from the Python side.

How can I make this work, so I can bundle and distribute an executable that has Python, Julia and everything it needs to run?

A little more details

My end user is someone (chemists and pharmacists) that have no idea what programming is. They don't have Python, Julia or Docker (and they don't even want to install it).

In my current approach, the software bundled with PyInstaller consists of a single executable with everything inside it (Python and everything it needs). What I really want is to keep the same user experience, but also with Julia running on the backstage.

I'll implement several functions in the Julia side, and I want (almost) the same level of integration as I get with PyJulia.

Maybe I'll go to Rust and just use the C interface, but I really would like to use Julia.

Thank y'all for your time.

Upvotes: 8

Views: 603

Answers (2)

KeithWM
KeithWM

Reputation: 1345

You could try using JuliaWin. This provides a standalone Julia runtime that works fully self-contained.

We deployed a tool using PyInstaller with the JuliaWin included as one of the datas as PyInstaller calls them. Iirc it was not PyJulia but JuliaCall+PythonCall doing the interfacing in our case.

Unfortunately the startup was ridiculous (order of minutes). This is in part due to Julia's startup time, but largely due to the generated .exe first having to unpack the JuliaWin. So we are currently investigating using PackageCompiler, possibly also switching to providing the user with 2 files instead of 1.

Upvotes: 0

logankilpatrick
logankilpatrick

Reputation: 14521

Per here: https://julialang.github.io/PackageCompiler.jl/stable/apps.html#Creating-an-app-1 you can get what is basically an executable file and then you can just follow this post: Python Script execute commands in Terminal to execute the file you create.

Upvotes: 0

Related Questions