ExchangeDEX+

Buy Crypto Markets Spot FuturesBTC Earn Event Center

This article explains TensorFlow Core—the low-level, composable APIs for developers who need fine-grained control: researchers, framework authors, and power users extending Keras. It outlines use cases (custom layers/losses/optimizers, bespoke training loops, distribution with DTensor, advanced metrics), shows how Core underpins tools like Keras, TF Model Optimization, and TF Graphics, and highlights non-ML scientific workloads (physics sims, ray tracing, constrained optimization). You’ll meet the core building blocks—tf.Tensor/Variable/TensorArray, primitive ops, tf.math/linalg/random, tf.function, tf.GradientTape, DTensor, and tf.saved_model—plus guidance: don’t re-implement high-level APIs just to copy Keras; combine them when it helps. For hands-on learning, jump to the Quickstart for TensorFlow Core and the Build with Core tutorials.This article explains TensorFlow Core—the low-level, composable APIs for developers who need fine-grained control: researchers, framework authors, and power users extending Keras. It outlines use cases (custom layers/losses/optimizers, bespoke training loops, distribution with DTensor, advanced metrics), shows how Core underpins tools like Keras, TF Model Optimization, and TF Graphics, and highlights non-ML scientific workloads (physics sims, ray tracing, constrained optimization). You’ll meet the core building blocks—tf.Tensor/Variable/TensorArray, primitive ops, tf.math/linalg/random, tf.function, tf.GradientTape, DTensor, and tf.saved_model—plus guidance: don’t re-implement high-level APIs just to copy Keras; combine them when it helps. For hands-on learning, jump to the Quickstart for TensorFlow Core and the Build with Core tutorials.

A Detailed Overview of TensorFlow Core APIs

2025/09/09 19:00

Content Overview

Who should use the Core APIs
Core API applications
Build models and workflows
Build frameworks and tools
Build for scientific computing
Core API components
Next steps

\ The TensorFlow Core APIs provide a set of comprehensive, composable, and extensible low-level APIs for high-performance (distributed and accelerated) computation, primarily aimed at building machine learning (ML) models as well as authoring ML workflow tools and frameworks within the TensorFlow platform. These APIs provide a foundation for creating highly configurable models with fine-grained control and new frameworks from the ground up.

The Core APIs can be used as an alternative to high-level machine learning APIs like Keras. These high-level APIs are best suited for general machine learning needs. They offer a variety of modules that abstract away the complexities of ML while also offering functionalities for customization through subclassing. If you are looking for an overview of TensorFlow using Keras, see the Quickstarts and Keras sections in the tutorials.

Who should use the Core APIs

The TensorFlow Core low-level APIs are designed with the following ML developers in mind:

Researchers building complex models with high levels of configurability
Developers interested in using TensorFlow as a high-performance scientific computing platform
Framework authors building tools on top of the TensorFlow platform
High-level API users interested in:
Adding additional functionalities to their machine learning workflows such as custom layers, losses, models, and optimizers
Learning more about the inner workings of their models

Core API applications

The TensorFlow Core APIs provide access to low level functionality within the TensorFlow ecosystem. This API provides more flexibility and control for building ML models, applications, and tools, compared to high-level APIs, such as Keras.

Build models and workflows

The Core APIs are most commonly used to build highly customizable and optimized machine learning models and workflows. Here are some of the ways that the TensorFlow Core APIs can improve your machine learning models and workflow development:

TensorFlow

Building non-traditional models or layers that do not fully fit the structures supported by high-level APIs
Building custom layers, losses, models, and optimizers within Keras
Implementing new optimization techniques to expedite convergence during training
Creating custom metrics for performance evaluation
Designing highly-configurable training loops with support for features like batching, cross-validation, and distribution strategies

Build frameworks and tools

The TensorFlow Core APIs can also serve as the building blocks for new high-level frameworks. Here are some examples of tools and frameworks that are created with the low-level APIs:

Keras: deep learning for humans
TensorFlow Model Optimization Toolkit: a suite of tools to optimize ML models for deployment and execution
TensorFlow Graphics: a library for making useful graphics functions widely accessible

Build for scientific computing

The TensorFlow Core APIs can also be applied outside the realm of machine learning. Here are a few general-purpose use cases of TensorFlow for scientific computing:

Physics simulations for solid mechanics and fluid dynamics problems
Graphics rendering applications like ray tracing
Solving constrained optimization problems

Core API components

Here are some of the fundamental components that comprise TensorFlow Core’s low- level APIs. Note that this is not an all-encompassing list:

TensorFlow

Data structures : tf.Tensor, tf.Variable, tf.TensorArray
Primitive APIs: tf.shape, slicing, tf.concat, tf.bitwise
Numerical: tf.math, tf.linalg, tf.random
Functional components: tf.function, tf.GradientTape
Distribution: DTensor
Export: tf.saved_model

Next steps

The Build with Core documentation provides tutorials of basic machine learning concepts from scratch. The tutorials in this section help you get comfortable with writing low-level code with Core APIs that you can then apply to more complex use cases of your own.

:::tip Note: You should not use the Core APIs to simply re-implement high-level APIs, and it is possible to use high-level APIs, such as Keras, with the Core APIs.

:::

To get started using and learning more about the Core APIs, check out the Quickstart for TensorFlow Core.

\ \

:::info Originally published on the TensorFlow website, this article appears here under a new headline and is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Code samples shared under the Apache 2.0 License.

:::

Market Opportunity

Threshold Price(T)

$0.010017

$0.010017$0.010017

-1.36%

USD

Threshold (T) Live Price Chart

Disclaimer: The articles reposted on this site are sourced from public platforms and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MEXC. All rights remain with the original authors. If you believe any content infringes on third-party rights, please contact [email protected] for removal. MEXC makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content and is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided. The content does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or endorsement by MEXC.