Intel Aims To Hit On Performance, Plans LLVM Compiler

[mattst88]

Someone expert can please explain me in simple words what a shader compiler and IR are, and why LLVM is an improvement in speed?

OpenGL programs perform all kinds of operations with GLSL programs these days. These programs are compiled by a shader compiler, which translates and optimizes the GLSL code into a form that the GPU can efficiently execute.

IR means "intermediate representation" and is (in a few different forms) what the shader program is translated into inside the compiler. It's a form that allows the compiler to more easily transform and optimize it, before finally emitting assembly code for the GPU.

LLVM should provide a good improvement in performance because our current compiler is lacking a lot of useful optimizations (and a lot of the infrastructure needed to implement them well!). LLVM provides both a good infrastructure and many of these needed optimization passes.

[Plombo]

There's not a video of that presentation available somewhere, is there? I'd love to actually watch it.

[lolren]

i smell a valve console with intel cpu and graphics coming

hope i am right

[TeoLinuX]

a tech question

Someone expert can please explain me in simple words what a shader compiler and IR are, and why LLVM is an improvement in speed?

[89c51]

Out of curiosity.

Will this jump to LLVM help G3D in any way??

[gururise]

Nice! Right on the heels of the Windows vs. Linux comparison. Glad to find out Intel is aware of the performance deficiencies and are working to correct them.

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Intel Aims To Hit On Performance, Plans LLVM Compiler

Eric Anholt of Intel's Open-Source Technology Center had a few things to say yesterday at the 2012 GStreamer Conference about their open-source Linux graphics driver stack. Intel is aiming to hit hard on performance improvements and one of the interesting statements made is that they're now looking at moving to an LLVM-based shader compiler for a big performance win. Left 4 Dead 2 running on Mesa was also shown...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTE3MTI