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205 changes: 205 additions & 0 deletions docs/problem_struct_design.md

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I added this file because this is my plan for the next step (I used claude code's plan mode).
I think it makes sense to ultimately create an equivalent problem in C (which will have objective and list of constraints).. that way we can have a really nice abstraction from the python side (it will just need to use the problem struct's oracles methods).
Let me know what you think about this.

@Transurgeon Transurgeon Jan 4, 2026

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I think this will also be nice for computing the jacobian of constraints. We can apply the row offsets I mentioned earlier. Currently there is no simple way to test the jacobian of constraints (we would need to loop through all constraints everytime).

@dance858 dance858 Jan 4, 2026

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I added this file because this is my plan for the next step (I used claude code's plan mode). I think it makes sense to ultimately create an equivalent problem in C (which will have objective and list of constraints).. that way we can have a really nice abstraction from the python side (it will just need to use the problem struct's oracles methods). Let me know what you think about this.

I really like this abstraction and the idea of a problem struct in C.

The problem struct must allocate memory for the constraint values, for the jacobian, and for the hessian of the Lagrangian. You can have a function that does this (I would put this functionality outside the new_problem constructor):

  • allocate the array for the constraint values that must be of size num_of_constraints
  • to allocate the jacobian, first initialize all your constraint functions jacobians. Then loop through them to count the nnz. Allocate a CSR matrix in prob_struct with this number of nnz. (This will give a slightly overestimate on the nnz, but it should be fine. Just remember to actually update the nnz of the jacobian field in the problem struct once we evaluate the jacobian.)
  • let's wait with allocating space for the hessian

Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,205 @@
# Design: C Problem Struct

## Summary

Create a native C `problem` struct that encapsulates objective + constraints, with methods for:
- `forward(u)` - evaluate objective and all constraints
- `gradient(u)` - return objective gradient (jacobian.T)
- `jacobian(u)` - return single stacked CSR matrix of constraint jacobians

## Files to Create/Modify

1. **`include/problem.h`** - New header defining problem struct
2. **`src/problem.c`** - Implementation
3. **`python/bindings.c`** - Python bindings for problem
4. **`python/convert.py`** - Update to return problem capsule
5. **`tests/problem/test_problem.h`** - C tests

---

## Step 1: Create `include/problem.h`

```c
#ifndef PROBLEM_H
#define PROBLEM_H

#include "expr.h"
#include "utils/CSR_Matrix.h"

typedef struct problem
{
expr *objective; /* Objective expression (scalar) */
expr **constraints; /* Array of constraint expressions */
int n_constraints;
int n_vars;
int total_constraint_size; /* Sum of all constraint sizes */

/* Pre-allocated storage */
double *constraint_values;
double *gradient_values; /* Dense gradient array */
CSR_Matrix *stacked_jac;
} problem;

problem *new_problem(expr *objective, expr **constraints, int n_constraints);
void free_problem(problem *prob);
double problem_forward(problem *prob, const double *u);
double *problem_gradient(problem *prob, const double *u);
CSR_Matrix *problem_jacobian(problem *prob, const double *u);

#endif
```

---

## Step 2: Create `src/problem.c`

Key functions:

### `new_problem`
- Retain (increment refcount) on objective and all constraints
- Compute `total_constraint_size = sum(constraints[i]->size)`
- Pre-allocate `constraint_values` and `gradient_values` arrays

### `free_problem`
- Call `free_expr` on objective and all constraints (decrements refcount)
- Free allocated arrays and stacked_jac

### `problem_forward`
```c
double problem_forward(problem *prob, const double *u)
{
prob->objective->forward(prob->objective, u);
double obj_val = prob->objective->value[0];

int offset = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < prob->n_constraints; i++)
{
expr *c = prob->constraints[i];
c->forward(c, u);
memcpy(prob->constraint_values + offset, c->value, c->size * sizeof(double));
offset += c->size;
}
return obj_val;
}
```

### `problem_gradient`
- Run forward pass on objective
- Call jacobian_init + eval_jacobian
- Objective jacobian is 1 x n_vars row vector
- Copy sparse row to dense `gradient_values` array
- Return pointer to internal array

### `problem_jacobian`
- Forward + jacobian for each constraint
- Stack CSR matrices vertically:
- Total rows = `total_constraint_size`
- Copy row pointers with offset, copy col indices and values
- Lazy allocate/reallocate `stacked_jac` based on total nnz

---

## Step 3: Update `python/bindings.c`

Add capsule and functions:

```c
#define PROBLEM_CAPSULE_NAME "DNLP_PROBLEM"

static void problem_capsule_destructor(PyObject *capsule) { ... }

static PyObject *py_make_problem(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
PyObject *obj_capsule, *constraints_list;
// Parse objective capsule and list of constraint capsules
// Extract expr* pointers, call new_problem
// Return PyCapsule
}

static PyObject *py_problem_forward(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
// Returns: (obj_value, constraint_values_array)
}

static PyObject *py_problem_gradient(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
// Returns: numpy array of size n_vars
}

static PyObject *py_problem_jacobian(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
// Returns: (data, indices, indptr, (m, n)) for scipy CSR
}
```

Add to DNLPMethods:
```c
{"make_problem", py_make_problem, METH_VARARGS, "Create problem"},
{"problem_forward", py_problem_forward, METH_VARARGS, "Evaluate problem"},
{"problem_gradient", py_problem_gradient, METH_VARARGS, "Compute gradient"},
{"problem_jacobian", py_problem_jacobian, METH_VARARGS, "Compute constraint jacobian"},
```

---

## Step 4: Update `python/convert.py`

```python
def convert_problem(problem: cp.Problem):
"""Convert CVXPY Problem to C problem struct."""
var_dict = build_variable_dict(problem.variables())

c_objective = _convert_expr(problem.objective.expr, var_dict)
c_constraints = [_convert_expr(c.expr, var_dict) for c in problem.constraints]

return diffengine.make_problem(c_objective, c_constraints)


class Problem:
"""Wrapper for C problem struct with clean Python API."""

def __init__(self, cvxpy_problem: cp.Problem):
self._capsule = convert_problem(cvxpy_problem)

def forward(self, u: np.ndarray) -> tuple[float, np.ndarray]:
return diffengine.problem_forward(self._capsule, u)

def gradient(self, u: np.ndarray) -> np.ndarray:
return diffengine.problem_gradient(self._capsule, u)

def jacobian(self, u: np.ndarray) -> sparse.csr_matrix:
data, indices, indptr, shape = diffengine.problem_jacobian(self._capsule, u)
return sparse.csr_matrix((data, indices, indptr), shape=shape)
```

---

## Step 5: Add Tests

### C tests in `tests/problem/test_problem.h`:
- `test_problem_forward` - verify objective and constraint values
- `test_problem_gradient` - verify gradient matches manual calculation
- `test_problem_jacobian_stacking` - verify stacked matrix structure

### Python tests in `convert.py`:
- `test_problem_forward` - compare with numpy
- `test_problem_gradient` - gradient of sum(log(x)) = 1/x
- `test_problem_jacobian` - verify stacked jacobian shape and values

---

## Implementation Order

1. Create `include/problem.h`
2. Create `src/problem.c` with new_problem, free_problem, problem_forward
3. Add problem_gradient and problem_jacobian
4. Add Python bindings to `bindings.c`
5. Rebuild: `cmake --build build`
6. Update `convert.py` with Problem class
7. Add and run tests

## Key Design Notes

- **Memory**: Uses expr refcounting - new_problem retains, free_problem releases
- **Efficiency**: Pre-allocates arrays, lazy-allocates stacked jacobian
- **API**: Returns internal pointers (caller should NOT free)
140 changes: 139 additions & 1 deletion python/bindings.c
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -10,9 +10,13 @@
// Capsule name for expr* pointers
#define EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME "DNLP_EXPR"

static int numpy_initialized = 0;

static int ensure_numpy(void)
{
import_array();
if (numpy_initialized) return 0;
import_array1(-1);
numpy_initialized = 1;
Comment on lines +13 to +19

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I am not sure why this change was made. I could try to see if it works without it if necessary.
But something was wrong with just import_array so there was definitely a reason to do this.

return 0;
}

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -65,6 +69,77 @@ static PyObject *py_make_log(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
return PyCapsule_New(node, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME, expr_capsule_destructor);
}

static PyObject *py_make_exp(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
PyObject *child_capsule;
if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O", &child_capsule))
{
return NULL;
}
expr *child = (expr *) PyCapsule_GetPointer(child_capsule, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME);
if (!child)
{
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "invalid child capsule");
return NULL;
}

expr *node = new_exp(child);
if (!node)
{
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "failed to create exp node");
return NULL;
}
return PyCapsule_New(node, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME, expr_capsule_destructor);
}

static PyObject *py_make_add(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
PyObject *left_capsule, *right_capsule;
if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "OO", &left_capsule, &right_capsule))
{
return NULL;
}
expr *left = (expr *) PyCapsule_GetPointer(left_capsule, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME);
expr *right = (expr *) PyCapsule_GetPointer(right_capsule, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME);
if (!left || !right)
{
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "invalid child capsule");
return NULL;
}

expr *node = new_add(left, right);
if (!node)
{
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "failed to create add node");
return NULL;
}
return PyCapsule_New(node, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME, expr_capsule_destructor);
}

static PyObject *py_make_sum(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
PyObject *child_capsule;
int axis;
if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "Oi", &child_capsule, &axis))
{
return NULL;
}
expr *child = (expr *) PyCapsule_GetPointer(child_capsule, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME);
if (!child)
{
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "invalid child capsule");
return NULL;
}

expr *node = new_sum(child, axis);
if (!node)
{
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "failed to create sum node");
return NULL;
}
return PyCapsule_New(node, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME, expr_capsule_destructor);
}

static PyObject *py_forward(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
{
PyObject *node_capsule;
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -103,10 +178,73 @@ static PyObject *py_forward(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
return out;
}

static PyObject *py_jacobian(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)

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can you double check that this implementation makes sense? It seems to work atleast for a single expression.

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Is it correct that the purpose of this function right now is just to construct easy Python tests, say?
If yes, the implementation looks good.

We won't need this later if we use the idea of the problem struct in C, right?

If we actually want to use this function in production we should separate the forward, initialization, and eval_jacobian functions. But I don't think we will use it in production?

{
PyObject *node_capsule;
PyObject *u_obj;
if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "OO", &node_capsule, &u_obj))
{
return NULL;
}

expr *node = (expr *) PyCapsule_GetPointer(node_capsule, EXPR_CAPSULE_NAME);
if (!node)
{
PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "invalid node capsule");
return NULL;
}

PyArrayObject *u_array =
(PyArrayObject *) PyArray_FROM_OTF(u_obj, NPY_DOUBLE, NPY_ARRAY_IN_ARRAY);
if (!u_array)
{
return NULL;
}

// Run forward pass first (required before jacobian)
node->forward(node, (const double *) PyArray_DATA(u_array));

// Initialize and evaluate jacobian
node->jacobian_init(node);
node->eval_jacobian(node);

CSR_Matrix *jac = node->jacobian;

// Create numpy arrays for CSR components
npy_intp nnz = jac->nnz;
npy_intp m_plus_1 = jac->m + 1;

PyObject *data = PyArray_SimpleNew(1, &nnz, NPY_DOUBLE);
PyObject *indices = PyArray_SimpleNew(1, &nnz, NPY_INT32);
PyObject *indptr = PyArray_SimpleNew(1, &m_plus_1, NPY_INT32);

if (!data || !indices || !indptr)
{
Py_XDECREF(data);
Py_XDECREF(indices);
Py_XDECREF(indptr);
Py_DECREF(u_array);
return NULL;
}

memcpy(PyArray_DATA((PyArrayObject *) data), jac->x, nnz * sizeof(double));
memcpy(PyArray_DATA((PyArrayObject *) indices), jac->i, nnz * sizeof(int));
memcpy(PyArray_DATA((PyArrayObject *) indptr), jac->p, m_plus_1 * sizeof(int));

Py_DECREF(u_array);

// Return tuple: (data, indices, indptr, shape)
return Py_BuildValue("(OOO(ii))", data, indices, indptr, jac->m, jac->n);
}

static PyMethodDef DNLPMethods[] = {
{"make_variable", py_make_variable, METH_VARARGS, "Create variable node"},
{"make_log", py_make_log, METH_VARARGS, "Create log node"},
{"make_exp", py_make_exp, METH_VARARGS, "Create exp node"},
{"make_add", py_make_add, METH_VARARGS, "Create add node"},
{"make_sum", py_make_sum, METH_VARARGS, "Create sum node"},
{"forward", py_forward, METH_VARARGS, "Run forward pass and return values"},
{"jacobian", py_jacobian, METH_VARARGS, "Compute jacobian and return CSR components"},
{NULL, NULL, 0, NULL}};

static struct PyModuleDef dnlp_module = {PyModuleDef_HEAD_INIT, "DNLP_diff_engine",
Expand Down
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