torch/distributed/_shard/sharder.py

import abc
import torch.nn as nn

class Sharder(abc.ABC):
    """
    This is an interface which allows user to create more advanced
    sharding strategies that are not easily be composed by the
    `ShardingSpec`.

    :class:`torch.distributed._shard.sharding_plan.ShardingPlan` could
    take an object of the `Sharder` and call `shard` to shard the module,
    then replace the original module with sharded module returned.
    """
    @abc.abstractmethod
    def shard(self, module: nn.Module) -> nn.Module:
        """
        Shard a module base on the implementation of this method, and
        return the sharded version of the module.

        Args:
            module (:class:`torch.nn.Module`):
                The module to apply sharding to.
        Returns:
            A :class:`torch.nn.Module` object that represents a module
            that's already been sharded.
        """
        pass