qtrans
Translate typed quant-finance Python into readable, standalone C++, and prove the translation computes the same numbers.
A quant prototypes a pricer or a portfolio model in Python; a developer rewrites it in C++
for production, and bugs creep in during the rewrite. qtrans does the rewrite mechanically.
Its output is meant to be handed over: idiomatic C++ that keeps the original comments and
docstrings and is clean under -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic -Wshadow -Wconversion. Scalar code
needs only the standard library; array code uses Eigen, the header-only library found in many
pricing libraries. Every translation comes with a verifier that compiles the C++, runs it and
Python on the same inputs, and reports every difference.
- Stage 1, scalar code: closed-form pricers, Greeks, root-finders, bond maths, lattice sums.
- Stage 2, NumPy arrays: portfolio construction (Markowitz, Black-Litterman), binomial trees with early exercise, finite-difference PDE solvers, risk statistics.
- Stage 3, Monte Carlo: NumPy's random generator (
np.random.default_rng) reproduced in C++ bit for bit, so a translated simulation draws exactly the same numbers and gives the same price, not just a statistically similar one. - 0.4, real code: the numerical core of a real Black-Litterman portfolio app, written
without qtrans in mind, translated with type hints as the only change. Making that work
added
np.errstate,np.clip, boolean masks, broadcasting,keepdims,np.einsum,np.linalg.eigh/pinv,try/except LinAlgError, and optional values (x: float | None). See Tested on real code. - Stage 5, classes:
@dataclass(frozen or not),NamedTupleand plain classes with__init__become C++ structs with a constructor,constmethods, properties, class methods and==; an object can own its random generator (a Monte Carlo engine). Objects are passed, modified and copied with Python's sharing semantics checked, not assumed. Strings can be compared, passed, returned and joined. See Stage 5. - 0.7, back to Python:
python -m qtrans bindcompiles the translation into a Python module (pybind11) that keeps Python's semantics at the boundary: in-place changes reach your arrays, your generator advances exactly as far, your dataclasses go in and come back updated, and the exceptions are Python's. Checked like the C++ itself: 19,545 cases over the examples, 0 mismatches. See Calling the C++ from Python.
def black_litterman(cov: Mat, w_mkt: Vec, P: Mat, Q: Vec, omega_diag: Vec,
delta: float = 2.5, tau: float = 0.05) -> tuple[Vec, Mat]:
if np.any(omega_diag <= 0):
raise ValueError("view variances must be positive")
pi = delta * cov @ w_mkt # equilibrium returns implied by market weights
tau_cov = tau * cov
M = P @ tau_cov @ P.T + np.diag(omega_diag)
post_mu = pi + tau_cov @ P.T @ np.linalg.solve(M, Q - P @ pi)
...
becomes
inline std::tuple<qt::Vec, qt::Mat> black_litterman(const qt::Mat& cov, const qt::Vec& w_mkt, const qt::Mat& P, const qt::Vec& Q, const qt::Vec& omega_diag, double delta, double tau) {
if ((omega_diag <= 0.0).any()) {
throw std::invalid_argument("view variances must be positive");
}
qt::Vec pi = qt::matvec(delta * cov, w_mkt); // equilibrium returns implied by market weights
qt::Mat tau_cov = tau * cov;
qt::Mat M = qt::matmul(qt::matmul(P, tau_cov), P.transpose()) + qt::diag(omega_diag);
qt::Vec post_mu = pi + qt::matvec(qt::matmul(tau_cov, P.transpose()), qt::solve(M, Q - qt::matvec(P, pi)));
...
The generated headers for every example are in examples/cpp_out/.
Results
Across eleven example modules: 87 functions, 17,921 test cases, 0 mismatches, 0 compiler
warnings under the strict flags above. The full table is in
examples/RESULTS.md, regenerated by run_examples.py.
-
17 functions are bit-identical to Python (0 ULP apart in every case compared):
- scalar code built from arithmetic and C-library maths:
d1, the six bond functions, the CRR lattice; - all eight risk statistics on arrays, because the runtime reproduces NumPy's own
algorithms (pairwise summation,
var,quantile,cumprod) and so gets NumPy's exact roundings; - the finite-difference price.
- scalar code built from arithmetic and C-library maths:
-
Monte Carlo prices agree to a relative error of at most 5.6e-12, because the draws are identical; the only differences come from NumPy's own
exp. Antithetic European, Asian with a control variate, barrier, Heston, and portfolio VaR are all covered. -
Functions using SciPy's
normor NumPy'sexp/powagree to a relative error of at most 1.5e-11. They can't be bit-identical, because SciPy and NumPy use their own versions oferfandexp. Even inside Python, SciPy'snorm.cdfand the same formula onmath.erfagree to the bit only 63.9% of the time (max 45 ULP), andnumpy.expdiffers frommath.expon 4.4% of inputs (tools/measure_library_ulps.py). -
Linear algebra goes through LAPACK in NumPy and Eigen in C++. They agree to a relative error of at most 9.3e-11 in every case compared, random matrices included. 47 random cases (out of 12,544 for the array modules) were ill-conditioned, so the verifier reports them separately; see Verification.
-
Speed, in the recorded run. One call on one input each time; timings vary between runs.
Kind of code Speed-up Why Scalar arithmetic 9x to 44x Python call overhead removed, code compiled Calls to scipy.stats.norm999x to 4,888x Mostly SciPy's ~25-30 µs per-call overhead, against ~100-150 ns for scipy.special.ndtrArray code 4x to 102x Small where NumPy already runs in C ( cumprod: 4x); large where Python loops over elements (drawdown: 99x, EWMA: 102x)Large vectorised Monte Carlo about 1x to 3x The time goes in expover millions of elements, where NumPy uses run-time AVX code; portable-O2C++ calls the C library once per element (5.5x slower perexpin isolation). The C++ is still the same speed with no Python needed;gbm_paths, which loops over time steps, is 32x
Three C++ programs in examples/use_from_cpp/ use the generated
headers directly and print exactly what the Python prints:
price_book.cppcomputes implied vols and Greeks for an option book.portfolio_demo.cppbuilds minimum-variance and Black-Litterman portfolios.mc_demo.cppruns the Monte Carlo pricers. Its prices match Python's to all ten printed decimals, and so does the generator's final raw output.
Quick start
Install: pip install qtrans (the translator and verifier), or pip install "qtrans[bind]"
to also build Python bindings. The examples and tests live in this repository, not in the
package.
From an IDE: open run_examples.py and press Run. It translates every example, compiles
and verifies each one, prints the reports and rewrites examples/RESULTS.md.
From Python:
from qtrans import translate_file, verify_file
result = translate_file("my_model.py", "cpp_out") # writes my_model.hpp + a report
report = verify_file("my_model.py", bench=True) # compile, compare, time
print(report.to_text())
From a terminal: python -m qtrans translate my_model.py -o cpp_out,
python -m qtrans verify my_model.py --bench, python -m qtrans bind my_model.py --check,
python -m pytest (339 tests).
Requirements:
- Python 3.10+, numpy and scipy.
- A C++17 compiler, for verification only. The verifier finds
g++,clang++orclon the PATH, or you passcompiler=a path. On Windows, a standalone MinGW-w64 GCC (for example from winlibs.com) can be unzipped anywhere. - Eigen, for array and Monte Carlo code only. Install it with
conda install -c conda-forge eigen. The verifier looks in the conda environment, then/usr/include/eigen3, or whereverQTRANS_EIGENpoints. - For
qtrans bindonly:pip install pybind11 setuptools, and the compiler Python's own build tools use. On Windows that is MSVC, also with Anaconda: install the free Visual Studio Build Tools with the "Desktop development with C++" workload (MinGW g++ is fine forverify, but can't build modules for an MSVC-built Python). On Linux and macOS, the system g++ or clang. qtransmust be importable for array examples (from qtrans.typing import Vec, Mat), so run from the repo root orpip install -e ..
Tested on every push by GitHub Actions on Linux (g++, Eigen 3.4 from apt) and Windows
(MinGW g++ for verify and MSVC for bind, Eigen from conda-forge, as on an Anaconda machine). In CI a skipped compiled test
counts as a failure, so a green run means the C++ really was compiled and compared.
How it works
The translator reads the Python AST, plus the token stream so that comments survive, and makes these passes over each function:
- Scan. Accept only the supported statements, and collect every assignment.
- Check loops.
for i in range(...)becomes a C++for. That is only equivalent if the body never assignsiandiisn't read after the loop, so both are checked. - Infer types. Every local gets one C++ type: the join of everything assigned to it on
the ladder
bool < int < float, orVec/Matfor arrays. The pass iterates to a fixpoint. - Check aliasing (arrays). See below.
- Plan declarations. Each variable is declared in the innermost block that uses it, but only if it is assigned before every read there. A Python variable read before it is assigned inside a loop carries its value over from the previous iteration, so it must live outside the loop.
- Emit. Expressions carry their C++ precedence, so the output has exactly the parentheses
needed:
a * s ** 2becomesa * (s * s), nota * s * s, which rounds differently.
Stage 1: Python semantics that are preserved, not just syntax
| Python | Naive C++ would give | qtrans emits |
|---|---|---|
a / b == 3.5 for ints 7, 2 |
3 |
static_cast<double>(a) / static_cast<double>(b) |
-7 // 2 == -4, -7 % 2 == 1 |
-3, -1 |
qt::floordiv, qt::mod |
1.0 // 0.1 == 9.0 |
std::floor(1.0/0.1) == 10.0 |
a port of CPython's _float_div_mod |
round(2.5) == 2 (half to even) |
std::round gives 3 |
std::nearbyint |
int(nan) raises ValueError |
undefined behaviour | qt::to_int raises the same |
100000 * 100000 |
32-bit overflow | 100000LL * 100000 |
a < b < c |
(a < b) < c |
a < b && b < c |
norm.cdf(x, loc, scale) gives NaN if scale <= 0 |
a number | qt::norm_cdf(x, loc, scale) checks |
a, b = b, a |
std::tie(a, b) = std::make_tuple(b, a) |
Stage 2: arrays
Arrays are annotated Vec (1-D) or Mat (2-D) from qtrans.typing. Plain np.ndarray
doesn't say the rank, and C++ needs it. They become Eigen Arrays rather than Matrices,
because Eigen Arrays are elementwise by default, as NumPy is. Matrices are row-major, so
memory order and flat reductions match NumPy's.
| Python | Difference a naive translation would hit | qtrans |
|---|---|---|
b = a, b = a[1:], b = A.T share memory |
C++ copies | Analyses which names may share memory and refuses any pair where one side is later modified in place (suggests .copy()). Unshared code is translated as value copies, which then agree. |
| Passing an array to a function shares it | pass-by-value copies | Read only: const qt::Vec&. Rebound: by value. Modified in place: qt::Vec&, so the caller sees the change, as in Python. Both rebound and modified: refused. |
V[1:-1] = a*V[:-2] + b*V[1:-1] + c*V[2:] computes the right side first |
Eigen is lazy and reads values it has already overwritten | .eval() is added exactly when the right side reads the array being written |
a[-1], a[i] with i possibly negative |
out of bounds | a(a.size() - 1), a(qt::idx(i, a.size())); plain a(t) when t is provably ≥ 0 (e.g. a range(1, n) loop variable, or t - 1 inside it) |
a[2:100] on a short array clips; a[::-1] reverses |
assertion | qt::slice: CPython's slice-adjustment algorithm, line for line |
np.sum uses pairwise summation |
Eigen's .sum() adds in a different order |
NumPy's algorithm ported (also mean, var/std, quantile, linspace, arange, cumsum): bit-identical |
A - v broadcasts v across rows |
size mismatch | A.rowwise() - v.transpose() |
x ** 2, x ** 0.5, x ** -1 take fast paths in NumPy |
pow rounds differently |
.square(), .sqrt(), .inverse() |
np.maximum propagates NaN; np.max of [] raises |
Eigen doesn't | qt::maximum, qt::max follow NumPy |
Shape and index errors raise ValueError/IndexError |
Eigen asserts (abort) or undefined behaviour | Eigen's assertions become exceptions, caught as the matching Python error |
np.linalg.solve of a singular matrix raises LinAlgError |
Eigen returns inf/NaN | qt::solve checks for an exact zero pivot, as LAPACK does |
X - X.mean(axis=0, keepdims=True), M - v[:, None]: a (1, m) row or (n, 1) column broadcasts against (n, m) |
Eigen refuses different shapes | qt::broadcast: NumPy's rule for any two 2-D arrays; equal shapes use Eigen's own vectorised operators |
y = np.asarray(x) returns x itself when it is already float64, so y[0] = 1 changes x |
a copy | treated as the same array by the aliasing analysis; x = np.asarray(x, dtype=float) emits nothing |
np.maximum(-0.0, 0.0) is 0.0 (a tie returns the second argument) but np.clip(-0.0, 0.0, 1.0) is -0.0 (a tie keeps x); 1/x tells them apart |
std::max rules |
qt::np_maximum, qt::np_clip follow each rule |
x[x >= c] selects into a new array; w[w < 0] = 0 changes only those elements |
qt::select, qt::select_rows, qt::masked_update |
|
with np.errstate(...) |
translated as its body: it only changes which warnings NumPy prints |
Every rule above has a compiled test (tests/test_array_semantics.py). The three that are
easiest to get wrong were each mutation-tested by switching the rule off and confirming that
the tests fail: aliasing .eval(), negative-index wrapping, and pairwise summation.
Stage 3: random numbers
rng = np.random.default_rng(seed) becomes qt::Rng rng(seed); (qtrans_random.hpp).
Same seed, same stream, bit for bit, because the whole chain is ported from NumPy's C and
Cython source:
SeedSequence: hashing the seed into the initial state.- PCG64: the 128-bit generator, with portable 128-bit arithmetic so MSVC works too, and a native fast path for GCC/Clang that gives identical output.
- 53-bit doubles: how raw outputs become uniforms.
- The ziggurat method behind
standard_normal/normal: NumPy's 3×256 tables are copied verbatim bytools/gen_random_header.py, under NumPy's BSD licence.
Checked against NumPy on 5 million draws across seeds up to 2⁶³−1, including the rare
ziggurat tail branch. A one-bit change in that branch makes the tests fail. Supported methods
are random, standard_normal, normal and uniform, with scalar, n or (r, c) sizes and
NumPy's argument checks (scale < 0 raises ValueError, and so on).
| Python | Difference a naive translation would hit | qtrans |
|---|---|---|
| A generator passed to a function is shared: drawing advances the caller's stream | a copy would replay the same numbers | qt::Rng&; the verifier also checks that the caller's generator ends in the same state |
pair(rng.random(), rng.random()) evaluates left to right |
C++ leaves argument order unspecified; GCC on x86 goes right to left, and with the rule switched off all test cases come out different (Python 0.097, C++ −1.004) | Two draws in one statement are refused, with a hint to draw on separate lines |
g2 = g shares one stream |
copies it | Refused |
np.random.normal(...) uses hidden global state |
Refused, with a hint to use default_rng(seed) |
|
default_rng() without a seed uses OS entropy |
runs can't be compared | Refused: pass a seed |
The other way to make a simulation reproducible, passing the draws in as an array
(european_from_draws(z, ...)), needs nothing new: it is ordinary stage-2 code.
0.4: what real code needed
| Python | qtrans |
|---|---|
lag: int | None = None, x: Optional[float], -> float | None |
std::optional. x is None is !x.has_value(); wherever Python uses the value itself (x + 1, int(x), x < 0), qt::value(x) raises TypeError on None, as Python does. None is falsy. The verifier sends None as an input in a quarter of the random cases. |
try: solve(...) except np.linalg.LinAlgError: pinv(...) |
C++ try/catch (const qt::linalg_error&). Variables assigned in the try are declared before it, and statements that ran before the error keep their effect, as in Python. |
except ValueError |
allowed unless the try body (or a function it calls) uses math.sqrt, math.log, ...: those raise ValueError in Python and return NaN in C++, so the handler would run in one and not the other. |
except ZeroDivisionError / OverflowError / Exception / bare except: |
refused, with the reason: Python raises them on float operations where C++ gives inf/NaN. |
np.linalg.eigh, eigvalsh |
Eigen's self-adjoint solver, reading the lower triangle as LAPACK does. Eigenvectors are unique only up to sign, so results like V @ diag(f(w)) @ V.T agree; code that reads individual entries may not (said in the report). |
np.linalg.pinv(A, rcond) |
NumPy's rank rule (s > rcond * max(s)) on Eigen's SVD; for full rank, a column-pivoted QR, which stays accurate on badly scaled matrices where rebuilding from the SVD loses 5-6 digits (see below). |
np.einsum("ij,ij->i", A, B) |
one or two operands of rank ≤ 2, implicit and explicit mode, size-1 broadcasting; common patterns run as direct loops or products. Agrees to rounding (NumPy's kernels add in a different order). |
np.var(R, axis=0, ddof=1), np.cumprod(R, axis=0), np.trace, np.column_stack, vstack, hstack, concatenate([[x0], v]), .ravel(), .astype(float), scalar np.where, scalar np.clip |
NumPy's algorithms (var with an axis, trace and cumprod are bit-identical) |
if R.ndim == 1: with R: Mat |
the test is decided by the type, so the dead branch is left out (and said in the report) |
Stage 5: classes and strings
@dataclass(frozen=True)
class Option:
S: float
K: float
T: float
vol: float
r: float = 0.0
is_call: bool = True
def __post_init__(self):
if self.S <= 0 or self.K <= 0 or self.T <= 0 or self.vol <= 0:
raise ValueError("S, K, T and vol must be positive")
@property
def forward(self) -> float:
return self.S * math.exp(self.r * self.T)
def price(self) -> float: ...
becomes
struct Option { // frozen dataclass
double S{};
...
Option() = default; // only so a variable can be declared before it is assigned
Option(double S_, double K_, double T_, double vol_, double r_ = 0.0, bool is_call_ = true);
double forward() const; // @property
double price() const;
static Option atm(double S_, double T_, double vol_, double r_ = 0.0);
bool operator==(const Option& other) const;
...
};
and Option(S=100, K=95, T=0.5, vol=0.2) becomes Option(100.0, 95.0, 0.5, 0.2), with keyword
arguments put in field order and defaults spelled out where a later field is given.
examples/instruments.py has options, quotes, a yield curve, bonds,
and a mutable portfolio inside an account.
Sharing. Python shares objects on assignment and in calls; a C++ struct is copied. They agree as long as nothing changes a shared object, so the same analysis that guards arrays applies to objects, and to the arrays inside them:
| Python | qtrans |
|---|---|
a method that changes self (a field, an element of an array field, a method that does, a function that does) |
non-const; every other method is const |
| a function that changes an object argument | Portfolio&, so the caller sees the change; the verifier compares the caller's object after the call, field by field |
| an object that can't change: frozen, with no array anywhere inside | always const Option&, never copied |
@dataclass(frozen=True) with an array field |
frozen only stops reassigning fields; o.w[0] = 1 is legal Python, so it is treated like a mutable object |
p = Portfolio(w), then p.scale(2) |
refused: w is p.weights in Python, so w changes too |
w = p.weights; w[0] = 5, or q = p; q.scale(2) |
refused, with the hint copy.deepcopy(p) |
copy.deepcopy(p) |
a plain C++ copy, which is a deep copy |
dataclasses.replace(p, cash=1.0) |
through the constructor (so __post_init__ runs again); still shares the other fields' arrays, as in Python |
__post_init__ doing self.w /= self.w.sum() |
refused: that changes the array the caller passed in; self.w = self.w / self.w.sum() is fine |
Plain classes. A class without @dataclass gets its fields from __init__: every
self.x = ... there (or x: float declared in the class body), typed by the same inference
as local variables, so self.n = len(w) is an int and self.total = 0.0 a float. __init__
becomes the C++ constructor. A method that creates an attribute __init__ doesn't set is
refused, and so is ==, which compares identity for a plain class.
A generator inside an object. self.rng = np.random.default_rng(seed) in __init__ (or a
Generator field) is a qt::Rng member, reproducing NumPy's stream exactly. Drawing from it
changes the object, so such methods aren't const and the object is passed by reference; the
verifier hands the generator to C++ mid-stream (its exact PCG64 state) and checks after the
call that both sides drew the same numbers. Passing an existing generator into an object is
refused: Python would share one stream with the caller, C++ would copy it.
Evaluation order. Python evaluates left to right; C++ leaves the order of operands and
arguments unspecified (GCC on x86 often goes right to left). So a statement may contain at
most one call that changes something (a random draw, a method that changes its object, a
function that changes an argument) and must not otherwise read what that call changes:
p.step() + p.cash, push(a) + a[0], p.cash += p.step() and rng.random() - rng.random()
are refused with the hint to make the call on its own line. (Building this, the verifier's own
driver hit the same trap: reading a generator's four state words as the arguments of one call
got them in reverse order.)
Also supported: field(default=..., default_factory=lambda: ..., init=False, compare=False);
object.__setattr__(self, "x", value) in a frozen class's __post_init__; @classmethod
alternate constructors with cls(...); @staticmethod; nested objects (acc.port.value(px));
NamedTuple indexing (q[0]) and unpacking (bid, ask = q); ==/!= field by field.
Locals and parameters of a method that would hide a field get a trailing underscore, so
-Wshadow stays quiet.
Refused, with the reason: inheritance, class attributes with values (shared by every
object), property setters, defining __eq__, __add__ and the like, == on an object holding an
array (Python raises), array defaults without default_factory (Python refuses them too),
copy.copy (shallow), assigning a field of a frozen object.
Strings: str parameters, fields, locals and returns (std::string), ==, !=, ordering,
+, s in ("a", "b"), truthiness, string constants. Python orders strings by code point and
std::string by UTF-8 byte, which agree. The verifier's random strings come from the
module's own string literals, so branches like if stance == "Long only": run.
Tested on real code
examples/black_litterman_app.py is the numerical core of
the Black-Litterman portfolio app (github.com/SunnyAlexV/Black-Litterman-model): 21
functions from bl_core.py, bl_inference.py and bl_backtest.py, including the posterior
mean and covariance, the He-Litterman Ω, Ledoit-Wolf shrinkage, variance ratios, the HAC
covariance and drifting buy-and-hold returns. The only change is type hints; every body is the
app's own code. The rest of the app is out of reach for now, for reasons that are on the
roadmap or out of scope: the optimiser and Idzorek's Ω call scipy.optimize; data handling
uses pandas; some helpers return strings or dicts; the bootstrap uses integer arrays.
- Before 0.4: with type hints added, 7 of the 20 functions first tried translated (and two
translator bugs showed up, fixed: a missing
int-to-doublecast and complex-power classification). - Now: 21 of 21 translate, and over 4,233 cases (random, plus realistic ones: 500 days of
returns on 10 assets, three views) there are 0 mismatches. 7 functions are bit-identical
to NumPy; the others use LAPACK,
powor BLAS and agree to rounding. Per call, 1x to 75x faster at the realistic sizes: near 1x where NumPy already spends its time in optimised C (ledoit_wolf_identity's matrix products), 15x to 75x where Python overhead dominates (posterior_mu,portfolio_stats,_cvar).
What it turned up, beyond the missing features:
- Eigen's SVD-based pseudo-inverse loses accuracy on badly scaled matrices. On random
matrices mixing entries of 1e8 and 1e-2, rebuilding
pinvfrom the SVD was off by 2e-10 to 9e-9 against a 60-digit reference, where LAPACK stayed near 1e-15. Every Eigen SVD variant did the same; the column-pivoted QR route matches or beats NumPy: over the 93 hardest of 600 random cases, median error 1.6e-15 against NumPy's 2.3e-11. A test keeps it that way. np.maximumandnp.minimumbroke signed-zero ties the wrong way, including when the scalar comes first (np.minimum(0.0, v)).np.asarraywas treated as a copy. It returns its argument when that is already float64, so modifying the result modifies the caller's array.S = S.copy(); S += ...on a parameter was refused as "modified in place and reassigned", though the copy comes first and the caller never sees the change.- The verifier's ill-conditioning test was too strict for linear algebra. It nudged each
element by 4 ULPs of itself, but LAPACK and Eigen are accurate relative to a matrix's norm,
so on badly scaled matrices two correct libraries differed by more than the nudge
predicted. For functions using
np.linalg, it now also nudges by 4 ULPs of the largest element. - The benchmark could time an empty array (the first random case) and report a meaningless speed-up. It now times a hand-picked case, or the largest random one.
Calling the C++ from Python
python -m qtrans bind my_model.py --check --bench compiles the translation into a Python
module, my_model_cpp, next to the file, then checks it against the Python and times both.
From Python: build_extension(path) and check_bindings(path, bench=True) in qtrans.bind.
import black_litterman_app_cpp as bl
pi = bl.equilibrium_returns(2.5, Sigma, w_mkt) # the same numbers, raising the same exceptions
import instruments_cpp as inst
p = Portfolio(weights, cash=1000.0) # your own Python dataclass...
inst.run_rebalances(p, target, prices, 3) # ...is read, and written back as Python would
What crosses the boundary, and how. The aim is that swapping the import changes nothing but the speed, so where a conversion would silently change behaviour, the binding refuses.
| You pass | The C++ gets | Afterwards |
|---|---|---|
numbers, strings, None |
converted; an int parameter refuses a float |
|
| an array the function only reads | a copy (any array-like; float64 C-ordered arrays are a plain memcpy) |
|
| an array it modifies in place | your own float64 C-contiguous array, or TypeError (a converted copy would hide the change) |
the change copied into your array, so views of it see it too |
an np.random.Generator |
its exact PCG64 state | the advanced state written back: your generator continues exactly where Python's would |
| one of your dataclass / class objects | its fields (no constructor runs) | if the function modifies it, the fields written back. Arrays and generators go into the objects it already holds when Python changes them in place, and are re-pointed when Python assigns a new one (decided per function from what it can call) |
a compiled object (inst.Portfolio(...)) |
the object itself | changed in place, as in Python |
Write-backs happen also when the call raises, since Python would leave the partial change.
Two arguments that share memory (the same array, a view of it, the same generator or object),
where one of them is modified, raise ValueError: in Python the change would show through
both, the compiled code works on separate copies. Exceptions come back as Python's:
numpy.linalg.LinAlgError, ValueError, ZeroDivisionError, TypeError (for None where a
number is needed), IndexError, AssertionError, OverflowError. Shape and bounds errors
raise the module's ShapeError, which is both a ValueError and an IndexError, because
NumPy raises one or the other and Eigen's checks can't tell which.
Compiled classes have the constructor (running __post_init__ or __init__), the fields
as attributes (read-only on frozen classes and NamedTuples), methods, properties, static and
class methods, ==, hashing for frozen classes (unhashable otherwise, as in Python), the
dataclass repr, copy.copy/deepcopy, tuple unpacking for a NamedTuple, and
Cls._from_python(obj) to convert one of your objects once instead of on every call.
Checked like the C++ itself. --check runs every function, method and constructor through
the compiled module and through Python on the same random and hand-picked inputs, with your
Python objects and again with compiled ones. It compares return values, in-place changes,
which arrays were changed in place and which re-pointed, generator states, and exceptions.
Over the eleven examples: 87 functions and 7 classes, 19,545 cases, 0 mismatches
(examples/BINDINGS.md, regenerated by tools/bind_examples.py).
Breaking the generator and array write-backs on purpose turns 92 cases of instruments and
30 of monte_carlo into mismatches, so the check sees what it is meant to see.
Speed from Python, per call, end to end (one run; timings vary between runs). A call costs about 100 ns of overhead with number arguments and about 0.5 µs with two small arrays, so:
| Kind of code | Speed-up from Python | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Calls to scipy.stats.norm |
170x to 1,200x | bs_price 383x, implied_vol 1,227x |
| Python loops over elements or objects | 15x to 75x | max_drawdown 74x, leveraged_nav 70x, american_binomial 30x |
| Array code at the examples' sizes | 2x to 15x | black_litterman 12x, posterior_mu 10x, nearest_psd 3x |
| Scalar arithmetic only | about 1x to 8x | d1 1.2x: the work is as small as the call overhead |
| Tiny functions, exp-bound Monte Carlo | 0.6x to 2x | weight_bounds 0.6x (a string compare); european_from_draws 0.6x, as for the standalone C++ |
Not quite Python, by design: a function returning its argument returns a copy, not the
same array; reading an array field of a compiled object gives a read-only copy (writing to it
would change nothing, so it can't be written); assigning an array to a field stores a copy;
reading a generator field gives a copy; a generator given to a compiled constructor is copied,
so the object and you no longer share it; raise NotImplementedError comes back as its parent
RuntimeError; copy.copy of a compiled object is a deep copy; and when a function re-points
an array field to an array equal to the old one, the compiled side keeps the old array (only
is can tell).
Verification
verify_file / python -m qtrans verify:
- Builds a driver. It translates the module, generates a C++ test driver, and compiles it
with strict warnings and
-ffp-contract=off. That flag stops the compiler fusinga*b + cinto one FMA instruction, which rounds once where Python rounds twice. - Builds inputs. Your hand-picked cases from
QTRANS_CASESin the module are used, plus 200 seeded random ones per function. Random arrays share a size per call (Vec of n, Mat of n×n, with n from 0 to 6). - Transfers values exactly. Numbers go to C++ as hex floats and come back through
printf("%a"), so nothing is rounded in transit. - Compares everything a call produces. That means the return value, the final state of every array the function modifies in place, and, for a generator argument, its next raw output after the call. Equal raw outputs prove both sides consumed exactly the same number of draws.
- Classifies every case:
- match: within
rtol=1e-10/atol=1e-13, or the same exception category. Arrays are compared normwise, relative to the array's largest value. - ill-cond: further apart than that, but within 100× of how far Python's own answer
moves when the inputs are nudged by 4 ULPs (for functions using
np.linalg, also by 4 ULPs of a matrix's largest element, the size of error LAPACK itself is allowed). The problem itself can't be computed more precisely there, by any implementation. These cases are listed separately, never hidden. - known: Python raised a float error that IEEE-754 arithmetic doesn't raise
(
ZeroDivisionError,OverflowError, math domain error), or a Python float went complex ((-8.0) ** (1/3)), where C, likenp.float64, gives NaN. - mismatch: anything else. A correct translation has none.
- match: within
Module-level settings the verifier reads (the translator ignores names starting QTRANS_):
QTRANS_CASES = {"f": [(args...), ...]} (trailing defaults may be omitted, arrays as NumPy
arrays) and QTRANS_TOLERANCE = {"f": 1e-8} for an algorithm that guarantees less than 1e-10.
No example needs QTRANS_TOLERANCE, and every hand-picked case is an outright match.
Differences kept by design
Each is listed in the per-module report next to the functions it affects.
- Float errors. Python raises on
x / 0.0, on overflow in**andmath.exp, and onmath.log(-1). C++ follows IEEE-754 and returns ±inf/NaN. Integer//and%by zero do throw, as in Python. - 64-bit integers. Past ±9.2e18, C++ raises
OverflowErrorinstead of returning a big int. - Last-bit differences where NumPy or SciPy use their own
exp,pow,erfor BLAS/LAPACK. assertalways runs in C++;python -Ostrips it.- Shape and bounds checks are always on, as they are in NumPy. Defining your own
eigen_assertbefore including the header turns them off. - Objects whose fields are the same NaN: Python's dataclass
==compares field tuples, which treat one float object as equal to itself even when it is NaN; C++ compares values. - LAPACK on
inf: for inputs containinginf, LAPACK'seigh/pinvresults are erratic (NaN in one case, an identity matrix in another) and are not reproduced. NaN is. - Optional arrays (
P: Mat | None) are read, tested and rebound, but not modified in place:std::optional<qt::Mat>holds a copy, where Python would modify the caller's array.
What is supported
- Types:
float,int,bool,str,Vec,Mat,np.random.Generator,tuple[...]of those,X | None(alsoOptional[X]) for a number or array,@dataclassandNamedTupleclasses, and-> None. Parameters and returns are annotated; locals are inferred. - Statements: assignment (including tuple unpacking, swaps,
a[i] = x,a[i:j] = v,A[i] = row,A[:, j] = col), augmented assignment,if/elif/else,while,foroverrange(...)or over aVec,break,continue,return,raisewith a string,assert,try/except np.linalg.LinAlgErrororValueError,with np.errstate(...). - Scalar library:
math.*, scalar NumPy functions,scipy.stats.norm.cdf/pdf/ppf/sfwithloc/scale,scipy.special.erf/erfc/ndtr/ndtri, and the builtinsabs,min,max,float,int,bool,round,pow. - Array library:
- Creation:
zeros,ones,full,eye,linspace,arange,array([...]),*_like,copy. - Elementwise:
exp,log,sqrt,abs,maximum,minimum,where,isnan, ... andnorm.cdf/pdfon arrays. - Reductions:
sum/mean/std/var(withaxis,ddof,keepdims),max,min,argmax,argmin,cumsum/cumprod(withaxis),sort,quantile,percentile,median,trace,any/all/count_nonzeroof comparisons. - Shapes:
v[:, None],v[None, :],.ravel(),.flatten(),.astype(float),column_stack,vstack,hstack,concatenate,clip. - Masks:
x[mask],A[row_mask],x[mask] = c,x[mask] += c; stored comparisons (tail = pnl <= -var) becomeqt::Mask. - Linear algebra:
@,dot,outer,.T,diag,einsum,np.linalg.solve/inv/cholesky/det/eigh/eigvalsh/pinv. - Attributes:
.shape,.size,.ndim,len().
- Creation:
- Random numbers:
np.random.default_rng(seed), andGenerator.random,standard_normal,normalanduniform.
Everything else is refused with a line number and a hint, and anything that calls a
refused function is refused too. examples/not_yet_supported.py
shows the messages. A refusal is always preferred to a translation that might compute a
different number.
What building this turned up
Most of these are bugs in the Python examples, found because the verifier insisted on an explanation for every disagreement:
- Implied vol returned the wrong vol. The first stopping rule was absolute
(
|price error| < 1e-12). For near-zero prices it passes immediately, and the solver returned 0.05 for options whose vol was 0.2. With a relative rule, all 84 well-posed test cases now recover the true vol to 1.3e-11. - The binomial tree accepted arbitrage. Random inputs with p = (e^{rΔt} − d)/(u − d) outside (0, 1) produced values growing like p^n (in one case p ≈ 10 over 97 steps), which is garbage in both languages. The pricers now refuse such trees.
- Textbook Black-Litterman is numerically fragile. The information form inverts
inv(τΣ) + P'Ω⁻¹P, which becomes singular as a view grows confident. Against a 50-digit reference it is accurate to only about 6 digits at Ω = 1e-14 (relative error 1.4e-6), while the algebraically identical Woodbury form keeps full precision (tools/black_litterman_stability.py). The example uses the Woodbury form. - A parity check compared rounding noise. C − P − (Se^{−qT} − Ke^{−rT}) is a difference of numbers around K whose true value is 0. It now returns the gap relative to S + K.
- A slow quantile. The first
qt::quantilesorted the whole array, 9x slower than NumPy.std::nth_elementfinds the same two order statistics in linear time, so the result is unchanged bit for bit and the speed now matches NumPy's. - Translator bugs caught by the same process:
round(1e300)was undefined behaviour in C++, and now raises.norm.cdfwithscale <= 0returned a number where SciPy gives NaN.- Self-referencing slice updates needed
.eval().
Project layout
qtrans/
translator.py module level: imports, constants, signatures, parameter passing, header
functions.py per function: scan, loops, inference, aliasing, declarations, emission
expressions.py scalar expressions, Python semantics, library calls
arrays.py array expressions: arithmetic, broadcasting, indexing, NumPy functions
classes.py @dataclass / NamedTuple: fields, defaults, methods (stage 5)
structs.py object expressions: fields, properties, methods, constructors, ==
core.py, types.py, library.py, report.py, typing.py (Vec, Mat)
verify.py compile, run, compare (incl. conditioning), benchmark
bind.py pybind11 bindings: generate, build, check against Python
runtime/qtrans_runtime.hpp scalar helpers (standard library only)
runtime/qtrans_arrays.hpp array helpers on Eigen, NumPy algorithms ported
runtime/qtrans_random.hpp NumPy's Generator (SeedSequence + PCG64 + ziggurat)
runtime/qtrans_pybind.hpp the bindings' conversions, write-backs and exceptions
examples/ 11 quant modules (one from a real app, one of classes), their C++
output, RESULTS.md, BINDINGS.md, three C++ consumers
tests/ 339 tests: generated text, refusals, compiled semantics, every example,
the Python bindings
tools/ scripts that back the numbers in this README
run_examples.py press-Run entry point
Roadmap
Scalars and control flowArrays(float64, 1-D and 2-D)Monte Carlo(NumPy's generator reproduced exactly)Real code(0.4: a real app's numerical core, unchanged but for type hints)Classes(0.5:@dataclass,NamedTuple, strings; 0.6: plain classes, a generator held by an object)- Tooling:
a pybind11 wrapper so the C++ can be called back from Python(0.7), multi-module projects, PyPI.
Licence
MIT (see LICENSE). qtrans/runtime/qtrans_random.hpp includes NumPy's ziggurat tables under
NumPy's BSD 3-Clause licence, reproduced in that file.
Metadata
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