Centralize all backend imports from a single pulser.backends module

.flake8

@@ -14,4 +14,5 @@ per-file-ignores =
   # F401 Module imported but unused
   tests/*: D100, D101, D102, D103
   __init__.py: F401
+  pulser-core/pulser/backends.py: F401
   setup.py: D100

pulser-core/pulser/__init__.py

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
     devices as devices,
     sampler as sampler,
     backend as backend,
+    backends as backends,
 )
 
 __all__ = [

pulser-core/pulser/backends.py

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# Copyright 2024 Pulser Development Team
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+"""A module gathering all available backends."""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Type
+
+from pulser.backend.abc import Backend
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from pulser.backend import QPUBackend as QPUBackend
+    from pulser_pasqal import EmuFreeBackend as EmuFreeBackend
+    from pulser_pasqal import EmuTNBackend as EmuTNBackend
+    from pulser_simulation import QutipBackend as QutipBackend
+
+_BACKENDS = {
+    "QPUBackend": "pulser.backend",
+    "QutipBackend": "pulser_simulation",
+    "EmuFreeBackend": "pulser_pasqal",
+    "EmuTNBackend": "pulser_pasqal",
+}
+
+
+# This prevents * imports to attempt importing unavailable backends
+__all__: list[str] = []
+
+
+def __getattr__(name: str) -> Type[Backend]:
+    if name not in _BACKENDS:
+        raise AttributeError(f"Module {__name__!r} has no attribute {name!r}.")
+    try:
+        return getattr(  # type: ignore
+            importlib.import_module(_BACKENDS[name]),
+            name,
+        )
+    except ModuleNotFoundError:
+        raise AttributeError(
+            f"{name!r} requires the {_BACKENDS[name]!r} package. To install "
+            f"it, run `pip install {_BACKENDS[name]}`."
+        )

tests/test_backends.py

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Copyright 2024 Pulser Development Team
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import sys
+
+import pytest
+
+import pulser
+from pulser.backend.abc import Backend
+from pulser.backends import _BACKENDS
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("backend, missing_package", list(_BACKENDS.items()))
+def test_missing_package(monkeypatch, backend, missing_package):
+    monkeypatch.setitem(sys.modules, missing_package, None)
+    with pytest.raises(
+        AttributeError,
+        match=f"{backend!r} requires the {missing_package!r} package. "
+        f"To install it, run `pip install {missing_package}`",
+    ):
+        getattr(pulser.backends, backend)
+
+
+def test_missing_backend():
+    with pytest.raises(
+        AttributeError,
+        match="Module 'pulser.backends' has no attribute 'SpecialBackend'",
+    ):
+        pulser.backends.SpecialBackend
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("backend_name", list(_BACKENDS))
+def test_succesful_imports(backend_name):
+    backend = getattr(pulser.backends, backend_name)
+    assert issubclass(backend, Backend)