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Discover the new brand OuterSpace's secret weapon

A month ago, we brought you the first release of the OuterSpace Operator, aiming to redefine how you deploy algorithms on Kubernetes. Today, we're adding another tool to our suite, ensuring an even smoother integration and deployment process. Introducing Apizr - our answer to swift and efficient API creation. Seamlessly integrating with OuterSpace Operator, Apizr transforms your Python code into a containerized FastAPI backend, primed for Kubernetes deployment.

Apizr's Unique Advantage

Apizr delivers turnkey APIs, perfectly tailored for deployment via the Operator. One of Apizr's standout features is its use of Gunicorn in tandem with Uvicorn to run FastAPI applications.

  • Gunicorn is a highly performant HTTP WSGI (Web Server Gateway Interface) server. It's used for serving Python applications in a production setting. Gunicorn creates multiple worker processes, effectively handling numerous simultaneous requests.

  • Uvicorn, on the other hand, is a lightweight ASGI (Asynchronous Server Gateway Interface) server based on uvloop and httptools. FastAPI requires an ASGI server like Uvicorn to function. Uvicorn handles asynchronicity, making FastAPI applications exceedingly fast.

By integrating Gunicorn with Uvicorn to serve FastAPI applications, you get the best of both worlds: the robustness and efficient multi-request handling of Gunicorn combined with the speed and asynchronicity of Uvicorn. This synergy ensures that your Python code executes rapidly, manages a high volume of simultaneous requests, and delivers optimal performance.

The Docker images generated by Apizr are designed to be lightweight, ensuring swift deployment and reduced overhead.

The Core Process Behind Apizr

Apizr's strength lies in its systematic four-step process:

  1. Notebook Transformation: Not all Jupyter notebooks are inherently suitable for API conversion. To be effective, they must meet certain prerequisites, such as the capability to return inference results. For those notebooks that fit the bill, Apizr uses nbconvert to transform them into standard Python code. To ensure the resulting code is clean and adheres to best practices, Apizr formats it using black, a reputable Python code formatter.

  2. Code Analysis for API Generation: Once the code is ready, Apizr performs an in-depth analysis to extract metadata. This metadata helps in understanding the structure, dependencies, and nuances of the code, ensuring that the APIs generated align perfectly with the code's intent. Using this metadata, Apizr crafts APIs leveraging the power of FastAPI, which are not only fast but also resilient. Every generated API comes with built-in validation, serialization, and interactive documentation, thanks to FastAPI's capabilities.

  3. Optimized API Execution Environment: Apizr leverages the combined strengths of Gunicorn and Uvicorn to ensure that the generated APIs offer optimal performance and handle concurrent requests efficiently. The upcoming features will provide users with the flexibility to adjust the number of Gunicorn processes as per their requirements, ensuring scalability.

  4. Docker Image Creation with Customization: Apizr concludes the process by generating a lightweight Docker image. This image is optimized for performance, with Apizr intelligently identifying and pre-installing dependencies, like specific packages required for libraries such as scikit-learn. In line with our vision of offering enhanced configurability, users will soon have options to:

    • Choose a base Docker image that best fits their deployment environment.
    • Add essential packages or modify existing ones.
    • And other customization capabilities, giving developers a tailored deployment environment.

  5. Upcoming Features:

    • Privacy Checks: As part of our commitment to security and data protection, we're in the process of implementing a verification step to detect potential confidential information within the notebooks. This feature is expected to be rolled out by our official launch.

Looking Ahead with SolarianShield

Our commitment to continual enhancement is unwavering. In the upcoming updates for OuterSpace Operator, we have exciting news for our Insiders. Soon, you'll have access to an additional step: the capability to generate a Helm chart that's fully compatible with the Operator. This innovation is part of our next major release, SolarianShield, which we're thrilled to officially launch in the coming days. This release will not only streamline the deployment process but also reinforce the seamless integration between Apizr and OuterSpace Operator, making your Kubernetes deployments more fluid than ever.

Dive Deep with Apizr - We Need You!

Embarking on this open-source journey with Apizr is a first for us, and it's both exhilarating and daunting. The power of open-source lies in the collective wisdom, diverse experiences, and shared passion of its community. We genuinely believe in Apizr's potential, but its transformation from a promising tool to a successful, community-driven solution lies in your hands.

Each feedback, every constructive critique, and all the shared expertise will be the cornerstone of Apizr's evolution. So, we earnestly ask for your involvement. Test it, push its boundaries, and share your insights. Help us identify its strengths, uncover the blind spots, and shape its trajectory.

By joining hands with us, you're not just contributing to a tool – you're becoming a pivotal part of Apizr's journey towards excellence. And in this endeavor, every voice matters, every effort counts, and every contributor becomes an integral part of our extended OuterSpace family.

Let's come together, collaborate, and co-create a brighter, more efficient future with Apizr !