IBM

Debugging Across the Dataflow Stack

IBM

Debugging Across the Dataflow Stack

Included with Coursera PlusLearn more

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Intermediate level

Recommended experience

2 hours to complete
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Intermediate level

Recommended experience

2 hours to complete
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Locate failures in compiled AI workloads by compiler stage and software layer.

  • Distinguish numerical differences from logic bugs using high-precision references and tolerances.

  • Use ablation, provenance, logs, and comparison to narrow the first point of divergence.

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

2 assignments

Taught in English

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

 logos of Petrobras, TATA, Danone, Capgemini, P&G and L'Oreal

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Dataflow Architectures for AI Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 2 modules in this course

This lab hands students a transformer block with three deliberate bugs and has them find each one with the compiler's own diagnostics in Google Colab. Students locate a graph break with torch._dynamo.explain(), confirm it makes torch.compile no faster than eager, then fix a .item() host sync, an unstable manual softmax, and a shape-dependent branch so the block traces to a single graph. Quantifying both divergences shows the model fix changing the output roughly 3000x more than compilation alone, which is what sets a usable tolerance. Bisecting across the eager, aot_eager and inductor backends localises the numerical change to codegen, and because that change is a fraction of one fp32 ulp, students see why an absolute tolerance like atol=1e-6 would miss it entirely. Reading Inductor's dumped FX graph and generated kernels reveals fused Triton kernels alongside cuBLAS GEMM calls. The lab adds the Week 5 row to the Accelerator Landscape Map. An optional Dataflow Deep Dive compiles the same buggy block on IBM Spyre hardware for students in partnered programs, where a graph break becomes a compile-time rejection rather than a silent slowdown.

What's included

1 assignment1 ungraded lab

This quiz covers all six modules of the course: debugging compiled programs, the failure taxonomy for dataflow targets, observability tools, silent failures, differential debugging against a baseline, and debugging across the serving stack. It has 20 questions, most of them debugging scenarios in which you choose the next step or locate the fault. Allow about 50 minutes. You need 80% to pass, and you can take the quiz up to 3 times. Your highest score counts.

What's included

1 assignment

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.

Instructor

Kaoutar El Maghraoui
1 Course1 learner

Offered by

IBM

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.

Learner since 2018
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."

Jennifer J.

Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."

Larry W.

Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."

Chaitanya A.

"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."

What brings you to Coursera today?

Frequently asked questions