Introduction

Samples in Visual Studio solution format are provided for users to get started with deep learning using Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for AI. Each solution has one or more sample projects. Solutions are separated by different deep learning frameworks they use:

• CNTK (both BrainScript and Python languages)
• Tensorflow
• Caffe2
• Keras
• MXNet
• Chainer
• Theano

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.microsoft.com.

When you submit a pull request, a CLA-bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., label, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repositories using our CLA.

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact opencode@microsoft.com with any additional questions or comments.

Getting Started

Prerequisites to run the samples

• Install Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 or 2015.
• Install Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for AI.
• Pre-download data
  • For CNTK BrainScript MNIST project, in the "input" folder, run "python install_mnist.py" to download data.

Preparing development environment

Before training deep learning models on your local or remote computer you should make sure you have the latest applicable prerequisites installed. This includes making sure the latest drivers and libraries for your NVIDIA GPU (if you have one). You should also ensure you have installed Python and Python libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, Python support for Visual Studio, and appropriate deep learning frameworks such as Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit (CNTK), TensorFlow, Caffe2, MXNet, Keras, Theano, PyTorch and/or Chainer.

Please visit here for detailed instruction.

Using a one-click installer to setup deep learning frameworks

Currently, this installer works on Windows, macOS and Linux:

• Install latest NVIDIA GPU driver, CUDA 8.0, and cuDNN 6 and 7 if applicable.
• Install latest Python 3.5 or 3.6. Other Python versions are not supported.
• Run the following commands in a terminal:

  git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/samples-for-ai.git
  cd samples-for-ai
  cd installer
  - Windows:
      python.exe install.py
  - Non-Windows:
      python3 install.py

Note

On Linux, you may need 'sudo' to install deep learning frameworks into system directory.

Runing samples locally

• CNTK BrainScript Projects

  • Set the project you want to run as "Startup Project".
  • Set the script you want to run as "Startup File".
  • Click "Run CNTK Brain Script".

• Python Projects

  • Set the "Startup File".
  • Right click the startup Python script, and click "Start without Debugging" or "Start with Debugging" context menus.

License

The samples scripts are from official github of each framework. They are under different licenses.

The scripts of CNTK are under MIT license.

The scripts of Tensorflow samples are under Apache 2.0 license. There are no changes on the original code.

For the scripts of Caffe2, different versions released with different licenses. Currently, the master branch is under Apache 2.0 license. But the version 0.7 and 0.8.1 were released with BSD 2-Clause license. The scripts in our solution are based on caffe2 github source tree version 0.7 and 0.8.1, with BSD 2-Clause license.

The scripts of Keras are under MIT license.

The scripts of Theano are under BSD license.

The scripts of MXNet are under Apache 2.0 license. There are no changes on the original code.

The scripts of Chainer are under MIT license.