Multicore Is Closer Than You Think

People are no longer surprised to see a multicore processor in a laptop. In fact, some quad core laptops have already been announced.

How about your trusted cell/smart phone then? Many of the models there already have multiple processors. For example an ARM processor for applications, a DSP for baseband and a voice and video accelerator for the multi-media experience.

The designs so far have been very different from what you have on your laptop, different processors (ARM vs Intel), different Operating Systems (Symbian, mobile versions of Linux, Palm, Windows Mobile ...). However, this is slowly changing and Apple is one of the companies changing the game.

Apple has made no secret of the fact that they are using Mac OS X to power their computers (servers, desktops and laptops) as well as their iPhone and iPod Touch. The next version of Mac OS X will have a technology that Apple calls 'Grand Central' and that will facilitate application design for operating systems running on multi-core processors (using Symmetric Multi Processing). It also contains OpenCL, a language to tap into the graphics processor (see also my previous post on a hilarious comparison between general and graphics processors).

All very interesting stuff, even more so if you combine it with the content in this blog entry. A multicore chip with graphics processor coupled with Grand Central and OpenCL for a next generation iPhone. Ok, granted, the article is a bit speculative, but I agree with the author, the question is not if, but when Apple will release this.

The reasons to go multicore in this case are clear: better performance and the ability to add more features to differentiate the product (iPhone) in a highly competitive market and processor consolidation to save on power and bill-of-materials.

I guess it is time to allocate part of my toy budget to make sure I am ready when this phone will be released.

Comments

[Tom Pattson]

Good post. Actually, I am researching about multicore programming with C#.
I bought a new book for beginners by Packt Publishing: "C# 2008 and 2005 Threaded Programming: Beginner’s Guide", by Gaston C. Hillar - http://www.packtpub.com/beginners-guide-for-C-sharp-2008-and-2005-threaded-programming/book

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/2008-2005-Threaded-Programming-Beginners/dp/1847197108

The book is for beginners who want to exploit multi-core with C# 2005; 2008 and future 2010.

I read the book in one week and it has great exercises to help developers run in the multi-core jungle. Highly recommended.