Updated: 2010-10-27 16:56:10
What’s 1000.2 minus 1000? It’s not a trick question, but you might find your computer tells you the answer is 0.200012, and not the 0.2 you might expect. It’s a perfect example of the difference between precision and accuracy: the computer’s got it wrong to six decimal places. Tim Mattson and Ken Strandberg have written [...]
Updated: 2010-10-27 10:28:48
Every once in a while somebody writes a blog post that really changes your perspective. I Programmer has changed the way I look at a spreadsheet, perhaps forever, by pointing out what goes on underneath the hood, and showing how it relates to parallel programming. I’ve been using spreadsheets for over 20 years. I first [...]
Updated: 2010-10-26 10:59:16
I’ve written in the past about Amdahl’s Law, and it still comes up from time to time at conferences as part of the conventional wisdom of parallel programming. The law basically says that the speedup possible from using multicore is limited by the serial part of a program. I haven’t written so much about Gustafson’s [...]
Updated: 2010-10-22 14:59:50
Imagine a supercomputer that can do ten quadrillion calculations each second. I’d like to think that this would be my brain. Given that it’s extremely difficult to measure the processing speed of a brain, though some rough estimates have put it at ten quadrillion calculations a second, I might be right. However, sometimes it feels [...]
Updated: 2010-10-20 11:09:01
Here’s some good news for developers of parallel applications. Scientists at the University of Illinios have developed extensions for Java. They had one objective: to address the tough issue of parallel application development. Apparently, they’re also doing the same for C++. It’s certainly a significant step in the right direction. Technically, it’s called Deterministic Parallel [...]
Updated: 2010-10-12 17:19:04
Clay Breshears has gained a valuable insight into the minds of new parallel programmers, because he’s been judging the submissions for the Apprentice level of the Intel Threading Challenge. He’s written a blog post to share a few parallel programming tips for newcomers, which will be valuable to anyone who is entering any of the [...]
Updated: 2010-10-12 16:15:10
I know what you’re thinking: we don’t need another new programming language. But Deterministic Parallel Java (DPJ) makes some bold claims for simplifying parallel programmming, is based Java, and encapsulates ideas that could well be making their way to C++ soon. DPJ has been created by the Universal Parallel Computing Research Center (UPCRC), a consortium [...]
Updated: 2010-10-12 11:54:29
While at Intel Developer Forum, we were invited to take part in a short programme for Intel’s Parallel Programming Talk, which went out live from the exhibition floor and is now available on-demand online. In it, we discuss parallel programming education, some of the new products that can help to identify hotspots to parallelise, and [...]
Updated: 2010-10-05 16:32:42
There’s one tool that can dramatically increase your productivity as a programmer, and it costs about 50p. It’s highly portable, compatible with a wide range of input devices from different manufacturers, and it’s shipping now. It is the humble notepad. No, not a stylus device. I mean a real paper notepad. Over the years, I’ve [...]
Updated: 2010-10-05 10:05:28
If you are an ISV or service provider, you are probably already a member of the Intel Software Partner Program. It provides tools and resources to help optimise applications, and has a stream dedicated to multicore development. Membership of the program is free. Florian Piroth, marketing manager for Intel SSG-DRD EMEA, has got in touch [...]
