Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime' while running 'pip install onnx'

[WinInsider]

Were looking to dabble with AI/ML using ONNX in IronPython 3.4.2 (on Windows 10) with .NET 9.0.201 SDK

My steps:

• dotnet tool install ironpython.console -g
• ipy -m ensurepip
• ipy -m pip install --upgrade pip
• ipy -m pip install onnx

Last command produces...

Full error dump:

DEPRECATION: Python 3.4 support has been deprecated. pip 19.1 will be the last one supporting it. Please upgrade your Python as Python 3.4 won't be maintained after March 2019 (cf PEP 429).
Collecting onnx Using cached https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/8f/71/1543d8dad6a26df1da8953653ebdbedacea9f1a5bcd023fe10f8c5f66d63/onnx-1.14.1.tar.gz Installing build dependencies ... error ERROR: Complete output from command 'C:\Users\Mike\.dotnet\tools\.store\ironpython.console\3.4.2\ironpython.console\3.4.2\tools\net8.0\any\ipy.dll' 'C:\Users\Mike\.dotnet\tools\.store\ironpython.console\3.4.2\ironpython.console\3.4.2\tools\net8.0\any\lib\site-packages\pip' install --ignore-installed --no-user --prefix 'C:\Users\Mike\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-rfn35vxf\overlay' --no-warn-script-location --no-binary :none: --only-binary :none: -i https://pypi.org/simple -- 'setuptools>=40.8.0' wheel: ERROR: Unhandled Exception: System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'System.Runtime, Version=8.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. ----------------------------------------
ERROR: Command "'C:\Users\Mike\.dotnet\tools\.store\ironpython.console\3.4.2\ironpython.console\3.4.2\tools\net8.0\any\ipy.dll' 'C:\Users\Mike\.dotnet\tools\.store\ironpython.console\3.4.2\ironpython.console\3.4.2\tools\net8.0\any\lib\site-packages\pip' install --ignore-installed --no-user --prefix 'C:\Users\Mike\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-rfn35vxf\overlay' --no-warn-script-location --no-binary :none: --only-binary :none: -i https://pypi.org/simple -- 'setuptools>=40.8.0' wheel" failed with error code -532462766 in None

[BCSharp]

Thank you for the report. You are hitting two distinct issues here which I will address separately.

1. dotnet tool

There is a known problem with dotnet tool installations: ipy.exe and ipy.dll are being installed in different locations. While ipy.exe has a hard-coded relative location to ipy.dll, the reverse is not true. This causes problems with classical Python scripts that depend on sys.executable to invoke Python recursively. Since this is such a common problem, I think IronPython needs to have a workaround built in to handle this case. Frankly. I thought this was already implemented, but perhaps it fell through the cracks during our recent major code restructuring action (it may have been on a branch that didn't get integrated after restructuring).

Workaround 1:
In directory ~\.dotnet\tools\.store\ironpython.console\3.4.2\ironpython.console\3.4.2\tools\net8.0\any create a file ipy.bat with one line containing @dotnet "%~dp0ipy.dll" %*. I see you are using PowerShell on Windows, in that case the following should do it:

Set-Content -Path ~\.dotnet\tools\.store\ironpython.console\3.4.2\ironpython.console\3.4.2\tools\net8.0\any\ipy.bat -Value @'
@dotnet "%~dp0ipy.dll" %*
'@

Workaround 2:
Use Install-IronPython.ps1 rather than than dotnet tool install ironpython.console -g. This script properly installs the dotnet launcher alongside ipy.dll. For more info see the Wiki.

Solution:
Update IronPython the sys.executable logic to find ipy.exe in a parent folder.

2. onnx

After dealing with point 1, you will encounter the second hurdle. I don't know onnx, bu as long as it does not depend on numpy, it should be able to run. PyPI mentions only that it depends on Python 3.8. IronPython 3.4 is basically compatible with Python 3.4, but some features from later Python versions are implemented as well. If something that onnx uses is not supported by IronPython 3.4, we may look into implementing it anyway. However, I also see that there is are dependency on numpy declared. I don't know it it is required or optional. numpy is an extension to CPython (i.e. python.dll) and does not work with IronPython. There is a project Ironclad attempting to emulate C API of python.dll on top of IronPython but it is still unfinished and needs contributors.

[WinInsider]

Thank you @BCSharp for detail response. Indeed, after overcoming 1st issue, there are dependencies (eg: numpy, protobuf) in ONNX which stop installation of ONNX.

ERROR: protobuf requires Python '>=3.7' but the running Python is 3.4.2

PS:
Also, had to download CMAKE, and add its bin folder to PATH, as ONNX needs it
And, for good measure, I have also update setuptools via: ipy -m pip install --upgrade setuptools