[Numpy-discussion] SSEPlus + Framewave

[Matthieu Brucher]

> What do you mean by compiling incompatible? It is my understanding
> that (for example) Framewave (but also IPP) come in different flavors
> (32bit, 64bit) which of course must be compiled in at compile time.
> But which CPU is available and which features it delivers is indeed
> done at runtime (framewave: fwStaticInit()), the choice of how to
> implement things with which assembler code is then up to the framewave
> library.
> I do not consider it a good idea to write a own dispatcher library
> into numpy to choose which opcode to use.

This would enable the detection at runtime of the fast libraries and
the choice of the best one. It will indeed be an additional
dispatcher, but not every numerical library has such a dispatcher, and
the dispatcher only works for one library and not for the whole Python
module.

> Or do it get you completly wrong? Is your intention to make a plugin
> architecture in the sense of: copy some directory with libs and config
> in your site-packages and then your multiplications are much faster? I
> would consider such a framework a bit overengineered, since speedy
> calculations are a nice feature for every numpy user.

You have to detect the presence of the library. If there are no such
framework, you have to compile the module again (and for scipy under
Windows, it is not simple). So developing a good plugin framework will
help people code fast libraries plugins if it is possible, there will
be only one module and not one for Intel/AMD/Atlas/CUDA/... thus less
bugs, ...

Matthieu
-- 
French PhD student
Website : http://matthieu-brucher.developpez.com/
Blogs : http://matt.eifelle.com and http://blog.developpez.com/?blog=92
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