If we’re ever going to turn the corner from single-processor computing to massively parallel and/or distributed computing, we need 3 big changes that must happen cooperatively: 1) A new instruction set, 2) a new programming language and 3) a new OS.
For the last decade, each of these critical components has evolved in a vacuum, some times seemingly in spite of each other.
Put in car terms: (CPUs) Tire manufacturers have “innovated” putting four tires on each wheel, giving you four times as much traction and therefore potentially four times as much speed; (Languages) engine manufacturers made engines greener to the point spiders live in them (while hoping you didn’t notice diesel engines get 2x the mpg); (OSes) car manufacturers have concentrated on making the vehicles look prettier in a larger variety of car parks.
Each is hamstrung by the demands and and constraints of the next to produce a net imperfection.
Recent Comments