Update data docs

docs/source-pytorch/data/access.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+:orphan:
+
+Accessing DataLoaders
+=====================
+
+In the case that you require access to the :class:`torch.utils.data.DataLoader` or :class:`torch.utils.data.Dataset` objects, DataLoaders for each step can be accessed
+via the trainer properties :meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.train_dataloader`,
+:meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.val_dataloaders`,
+:meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.test_dataloaders`, and
+:meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.predict_dataloaders`.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+    dataloaders = trainer.train_dataloader
+    dataloaders = trainer.val_dataloaders
+    dataloaders = trainer.test_dataloaders
+    dataloaders = trainer.predict_dataloaders
+
+These properties will match exactly what was returned in your ``*_dataloader`` hooks or passed to the ``Trainer``,
+meaning that if you returned a dictionary of dataloaders, these will return a dictionary of dataloaders.
+
+Replacing DataLoaders
+---------------------
+
+If you are using a :class:`~lightning.pytorch.utilities.CombinedLoader`. A flattened list of DataLoaders can be accessed by doing:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+    from lightning.pytorch.utilities import CombinedLoader
+
+    iterables = {"dl1": dl1, "dl2": dl2}
+    combined_loader = CombinedLoader(iterables)
+    # access the original iterables
+    assert combined_loader.iterables is iterables
+    # the `.flattened` property can be convenient
+    assert combined_loader.flattened == [dl1, dl2]
+    # for example, to do a simple loop
+    updated = []
+    for dl in combined_loader.flattened:
+        new_dl = apply_some_transformation_to(dl)
+        updated.append(new_dl)
+    # it also allows you to easily replace the dataloaders
+    combined_loader.flattened = updated

docs/source-pytorch/data/custom_data_iterables.rst → docs/source-pytorch/data/alternatives.rst

@@ -1,16 +1,17 @@
+:orphan:
+
 .. _dataiters:
 
-##################################
-Injecting 3rd Party Data Iterables
-##################################
+Using 3rd Party Data Iterables
+==============================
 
 When training a model on a specific task, data loading and preprocessing might become a bottleneck.
 Lightning does not enforce a specific data loading approach nor does it try to control it.
-The only assumption Lightning makes is that the data is returned as an iterable of batches.
+The only assumption Lightning makes is that a valid iterable is provided.
 
 For PyTorch-based programs, these iterables are typically instances of :class:`~torch.utils.data.DataLoader`.
-
-However, Lightning also supports other data types such as plain list of batches, generators or other custom iterables.
+However, Lightning also supports other data types such as a list of batches, generators, or other custom iterables or
+collections of the former.
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
@@ -20,13 +21,24 @@ However, Lightning also supports other data types such as plain list of batches,
     trainer = Trainer()
     trainer.fit(model, data)
 
-Examples for custom iterables include `NVIDIA DALI <https://github.com/NVIDIA/DALI>`__ or `FFCV <https://github.com/libffcv/ffcv>`__ for computer vision.
-Both libraries offer support for custom data loading and preprocessing (also hardware accelerated) and can be used with Lightning.
+Below we showcase Lightning examples with packages that compete with the generic PyTorch DataLoader and might be
+faster depending on your use case. They might require custom data serialization, loading, and preprocessing that
+is often hardware accelerated.
+
+.. TODO(carmocca)
+    StreamingDataset
+    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+    The `StreamingDataset <https://github.com/mosaicml/streaming>`__
 
+FFCV
+^^^^
 
-For example, taking the example from FFCV's readme, we can use it with Lightning by just removing the hardcoded ``ToDevice(0)``
-as Lightning takes care of GPU placement. In case you want to use some data transformations on GPUs, change the
-``ToDevice(0)`` to ``ToDevice(self.trainer.local_rank)`` to correctly map to the desired GPU in your pipeline.
+Taking the example from the `FFCV <https://github.com/libffcv/ffcv>`__ readme, we can use it with Lightning
+by just removing the hardcoded ``ToDevice(0)`` as Lightning takes care of GPU placement. In case you want to use some
+data transformations on GPUs, change the ``ToDevice(0)`` to ``ToDevice(self.trainer.local_rank)`` to correctly map to
+the desired GPU in your pipeline. When moving data to a specific device, you can always refer to
+``self.trainer.local_rank`` to get the accelerator used by the current process.
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
@@ -54,8 +66,15 @@ as Lightning takes care of GPU placement. In case you want to use some data tran
 
             return loader
 
-When moving data to a specific device, you can always refer to ``self.trainer.local_rank`` to get the accelerator
-used by the current process.
+
+.. TODO(carmocca)
+    WebDataset
+    ^^^^^^^^^^
+
+    The `WebDataset <https://webdataset.github.io/webdataset>`__
+
+NVIDIA DALI
+^^^^^^^^^^^
 
 By just changing ``device_id=0`` to ``device_id=self.trainer.local_rank`` we can also leverage DALI's GPU decoding:
 
@@ -107,8 +126,8 @@ Lightning works with all kinds of custom data iterables as shown above. There ar
 be supported this way. These restrictions come from the fact that for their support,
 Lightning needs to know a lot on the internals of these iterables.
 
-- In a distributed multi-GPU setting (ddp),
-  Lightning automatically replaces the DataLoader's sampler with its distributed counterpart.
-  This makes sure that each GPU sees a different part of the dataset.
-  As sampling can be implemented in arbitrary ways with custom iterables,
-  there is no way for Lightning to know, how to replace the sampler.
+- In a distributed multi-GPU setting (ddp), Lightning wraps the DataLoader's sampler with a wrapper for distributed
+  support. This makes sure that each GPU sees a different part of the dataset. As sampling can be implemented in
+  arbitrary ways with custom iterables, Lightning might not be able to do this for you. If this is the case, you can use
+  the :paramref:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.use_distributed_sampler` argument to disable this logic and
+  set the distributed sampler yourself.

docs/source-pytorch/data/data.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+.. _data:
+
+Complex data uses
+=================
+
+.. raw:: html
+
+    <div class="display-card-container">
+        <div class="row">
+
+.. displayitem::
+   :header: LightningDataModules
+   :description: Introduction to the LightningDataModule
+   :col_css: col-md-4
+   :button_link: datamodule.html
+   :height: 150
+   :tag: basic
+
+.. displayitem::
+   :header: Iterables
+   :description: What is an iterable? How do I use them?
+   :col_css: col-md-4
+   :button_link: iterables.html
+   :height: 150
+   :tag: basic
+
+.. displayitem::
+   :header: Access your data
+   :description: How to access your dataloaders
+   :col_css: col-md-4
+   :button_link: access.html
+   :height: 150
+   :tag: basic
+
+.. displayitem::
+   :header: Streaming datasets
+   :description: Using iterable-style datasets with Lightning
+   :col_css: col-md-4
+   :button_link: streaming.html
+   :height: 150
+   :tag: intermediate
+
+.. displayitem::
+   :header: Faster DataLoaders
+   :description: How alternative dataloader projects can be used with Lightning
+   :col_css: col-md-4
+   :button_link: alternatives.html
+   :height: 150
+   :tag: advanced
+
+.. raw:: html
+
+        </div>
+    </div>

docs/source-pytorch/data/datamodule.rst

@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@ This class can then be shared and used anywhere:
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
-    from pl_bolts.datamodules import CIFAR10DataModule, ImagenetDataModule
-
     model = LitClassifier()
     trainer = Trainer()
 
@@ -56,8 +54,11 @@ Datamodules are for you if you ever asked the questions:
 *********************
 What is a DataModule?
 *********************
-A DataModule is simply a collection of a train_dataloader(s), val_dataloader(s), test_dataloader(s) and
-predict_dataloader(s) along with the matching transforms and data processing/downloads steps required.
+
+The :class:`~lightning.pytorch.core.datamodule.LightningDataModule`  is a convenient way to manage data in PyTorch Lightning.
+It encapsulates training, validation, testing, and prediction dataloaders, as well as any necessary steps for data processing,
+downloads, and transformations. By using a :class:`~lightning.pytorch.core.datamodule.LightningDataModule`, you can
+easily develop dataset-agnostic models, hot-swap different datasets, and share data splits and transformations across projects.
 
 Here's a simple PyTorch example:
 
@@ -411,7 +412,10 @@ the method runs on the correct devices).
     trainer.test(datamodule=dm)
 
 You can access the current used datamodule of a trainer via ``trainer.datamodule`` and the current used
-dataloaders via ``trainer.train_dataloader``, ``trainer.val_dataloaders`` and ``trainer.test_dataloaders``.
+dataloaders via the trainer properties :meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.train_dataloader`,
+:meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.val_dataloaders`,
+:meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.test_dataloaders`, and
+:meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.predict_dataloaders`.
 
 
 ----------------

docs/source-pytorch/data/iterables.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+:orphan:
+
+Arbitrary iterable support
+==========================
+
+Python iterables are objects that can be iterated or looped over. Examples of iterables in Python include lists and dictionaries.
+In PyTorch, a :class:`torch.utils.data.DataLoader` is also an iterable which typically retrieves data from a :class:`torch.utils.data.Dataset` or :class:`torch.utils.data.IterableDataset`.
+
+The :class:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer` works with arbitrary iterables, but most people will use a :class:`torch.utils.data.DataLoader` as the iterable to feed data to the model.
+
+.. _multiple-dataloaders:
+
+Multiple Iterables
+------------------
+
+In addition to supporting arbitrary iterables, the ``Trainer`` also supports arbitrary collections of iterables. Some examples of this are:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+    return DataLoader(...)
+    return list(range(1000))
+
+    # pass loaders as a dict. This will create batches like this:
+    # {'a': batch_from_loader_a, 'b': batch_from_loader_b}
+    return {"a": DataLoader(...), "b": DataLoader(...)}
+
+    # pass loaders as list. This will create batches like this:
+    # [batch_from_dl_1, batch_from_dl_2]
+    return [DataLoader(...), DataLoader(...)]
+
+    # {'a': [batch_from_dl_1, batch_from_dl_2], 'b': [batch_from_dl_3, batch_from_dl_4]}
+    return {"a": [dl1, dl2], "b": [dl3, dl4]}
+
+Lightning automatically collates the batches from multiple iterables based on a "mode". This is done with our
+:class:`~lightning.pytorch.utilities.combined_loader.CombinedLoader` class.
+The list of modes available can be found by looking at the :paramref:`~lightning.pytorch.utilities.combined_loader.CombinedLoader.mode` documentation.
+
+By default, the ``"max_size_cycle"`` mode is used during training and the ``"sequential"`` mode is used during validation, testing, and prediction.
+To choose a different mode, you can use the :class:`~lightning.pytorch.utilities.combined_loader.CombinedLoader` class directly with your mode of choice:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+    from lightning.pytorch.utilities import CombinedLoader
+
+    iterables = {"a": DataLoader(), "b": DataLoader()}
+    combined_loader = CombinedLoader(iterables, mode="min_size")
+    model = ...
+    trainer = Trainer()
+    trainer.fit(model, combined_loader)
+
+
+Currently, ``trainer.validate``, ``trainer.test``, and ``trainer.predict`` methods only support the ``"sequential"`` mode, while ``trainer.fit`` method does not support it.
+Support for this feature is tracked in this `issue <https://github.com/Lightning-AI/lightning/issues/16830>`__.
+
+Note that when using the ``"sequential"`` mode, you need to add an additional argument ``dataloader_idx`` to some specific hooks.
+Lightning will `raise an error <https://github.com/Lightning-AI/lightning/pull/16837>`__ informing you of this requirement.
+
+Using LightningDataModule
+-------------------------
+
+You can set more than one :class:`~torch.utils.data.DataLoader` in your :class:`~lightning.pytorch.core.datamodule.LightningDataModule` using its DataLoader hooks
+and Lightning will use the correct one.
+
+.. testcode::
+
+    class DataModule(LightningDataModule):
+        def train_dataloader(self):
+            # any iterable or collection of iterables
+            return DataLoader(self.train_dataset)
+
+        def val_dataloader(self):
+            # any iterable or collection of iterables
+            return [DataLoader(self.val_dataset_1), DataLoader(self.val_dataset_2)]
+
+        def test_dataloader(self):
+            # any iterable or collection of iterables
+            return DataLoader(self.test_dataset)
+
+        def predict_dataloader(self):
+            # any iterable or collection of iterables
+            return DataLoader(self.predict_dataset)
+
+Using LightningModule Hooks
+---------------------------
+
+The exact same code as above works when overriding :class:`~lightning.pytorch.core.module.LightningModule`
+
+Passing the iterables to the Trainer
+------------------------------------
+
+The same support for arbitrary iterables, or collection of iterables applies to the dataloader arguments of
+:meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.fit`, :meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.validate`,
+:meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.test`, :meth:`~lightning.pytorch.trainer.trainer.Trainer.predict`