CODEWITHSUNDEEP
operating-systemsimdcpu-architecture
user123443563
user123443563

Reputation: 271

Using SIMD instructions in application oriented to multiple platforms and OS

So, no matter how much I read about SIMD instructions, there is something basic I still can't understand properly and would, therefore, love to have some (conceptual) explanation or suggestions about.

I understand that the many SIMD implementations vary from one CPU architecture to another (MMX, SSE, SSE2, etc). However, considering that since the middle of the 2000s there seems to have been greater convergence between SIMD instructions-sets across Intel and AMD (and Apple has started used Intel), I don't get the following.

Simply put, if an application has a specific SIMD code (e.g. for a vectorized math library), would it equally run in both Intel's and AMD's (therefore in Windows and Linux computers) and also in iOS without any modification?

Or would it be required that specific code is implemented for each CPU architecture/operational system that is target by the application, in a way that different compilations of the application are given for each user type?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 435

Answers (1)

Paul R
Paul R

Reputation: 213210

For Intel/AMD there can be some convergence, depending on how hard you want to push the performance envelope. iOS devices are ARM-based though, and use Neon SIMD rather than Intel/AMD's SSE/AVX, so there is no binary compatibility and only minimal compatibility at the source level (e.g. via macros or template libraries). See this question for some cross-platform solutions.

Upvotes: 2

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