Can scikit be used from IronPython?

Question

I saw that numpy can be used from IronPython :

https://www.enthought.com/repo/.iron/

Is it possible to install and import scikit in IronPython? Im trying to interface between a module written in python 2.7 with scikit and an external COM object with IronPython...

Thanks

Fleeta

Answer 1

IronPython is certainly not supported by scikit-learn, and I doubt that it'll work without significant effort. The NumPy and SciPy for IronPython document describes the porting effort required for SciPy, and this has certainly not been done for scikit-learn, which too depends heavily on Cython-generated C code (unless someone did the porting effort but didn't advertise it on the scikit-learn mailing list).

Kinky

@larsmans.. I am in a similar situation, Are you aware if it is available now ? the post is almost 2 years old. – Skipton

Answer 2

As @larsmans said sklearn need recent numpy and scipy and embeds a bunch of compiled C extensions (wrappers for C++ libs such as libsvm / liblinear and cython generated C extensions). Hence I seriously doubt that it can ever run directly from the IronPython interpreter VM.

Your best bet is probably to try to bridge the .NET VM and a CPython interpreter running scikit-learn using something as github.com/pythonnet or even to expose on the two as an zmq, HTTP / JSON or msgpack or protobuf or avro webservice.

Sandfly

Thanks for your response. I want to make sure I understand this correctly - "python for .net" is an alternative implementation of the python interpreter that can be used to integrate .net stuff, but it will still support any imported libraries python 2.7 does? The documentation is not so clear(to me anyway..) – Fleeta

It's a bridge to call methods on .NET objects instantiated in a .NET VM from a pure CPython VM: pythonnet.sourceforge.net/readme.html – Sandfly