AMD opens sources performance library

AMD SAID it has open sourced its AMD Performance Library (APL), referred to as Framewave 1.0.

The chip maker reckons the move will make high performance application development easier for developers.

It said that contributions from partners, customers and the broader open source community will add to its own contributions to the Framewave project.

Framewave comprises more than 3,200 high-performance software routines that enable developers to create multi-threaded applications for x86 processors.

AMD said that Framewave allows developers to write applications that better utilise multi-threaded and mulit-cored chippery.

It presents an application programming interface compatible with Intel Integrated Performance Primitives, simplifying the software development experience through the use of a common interface.

Margaret Lewis, director of commercial solutions and software strategy at AMD, told vnunet.com that some developers have struggled to embrace multi-threading. µ

"A lot of applications that come over from the server world have been written for multi-core systems," she said. "When you get out of that range you get into code that is not multi-threaded by nature and it becomes a challenge."

"I do not think anyone thought this was going to be instantaneous," she said. "It is easier for developers to create new code that is multi-threaded, so we think there is going to be a migration." µ