AMD open-sources code for multicore development

Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday released the source code aimed at making it easier to build media applications for x86 multicore processors.

The AMD Performance Library, which is now called Framewave, is available on SourceForge.

The framework is a collection of routines that optimize performance of media-oriented applications on multicore processors. For example, a developer could link to a library that optimizes video display on a specific graphics card.

By starting a project at SourceForge.net, the chipmaker will allow programmers to customize and further optimize the software, which will work with compilers for Linux, Windows, and Solaris, said Margaret Lewis, AMD's director of commercial solutions and software strategy.

Experts say creating tools for developers to optimize their work for multicore processors is one of the biggest challenges the semiconductor industry faces.

Multimedia applications, in particular, get a relatively big performance boost by optimizing the code, Lewis said.

"Those particular applications are demanding and very complex, and a lot of the time, those routines are used repetitively," Lewis said.

AMD will continue contributing to the software and take outside contributions through the Framewave project, she added.

[slickuser]

Good stuff but...

who wants to rewrite their existing legacy revenue making apps? it would cost them alot. Only new products can take advantage of this. Intel also has similar libraries for years (thread profiler, vtune etc) No one takes advantage of them. Majority of the apps don't show any performance improvement on dual core or quad core. This has to change!!

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http://skulltrail.com

[therealbean]

Confused about products

Framewave, or the former APL, does not correspond to Intel's Thread Profiler or VTune, which are not libraries. Rather, it corresponds to Intel's Integrated Performance Primitives, or IPP. The difference is that the IPP library while somewhat larger is a commercial product (i.e., $$) and closed source.

[BALTHOR1]

The CPU is a memory chip

Fight for the devil,live with the devil.