Application development for the Cell processor

Cell Culture

© Dmitry Sunagatov, Fotolia

© Dmitry Sunagatov, Fotolia

Article from Issue 99/2009
Author(s):

The Cell architecPIture is finding its way into a vast range of computer systems – from huge supercomputers to inauspicious Playstation game consoles. We'll show you around the Cell and take a look at a sample Cell application.

Sony Computer Entertainment, Toshiba, and IBM started developing the innovative Cell Broadband Engine Architecture (CBEA) around 2001. The Cell architecture specializes in efficient processing of large data streams, such as the streams that occur in multimedia applications or computer games. The first implementation of the Cell architecture is the Cell Broadband Engine, also known as the Cell processor, which dates back to 2005 (Figure 1). Since it was introduced as the processor for the Sony PlayStation 3, the Cell CPU has attracted much attention. Although the Playstation (Figure 2) is certainly the most widespread application of the Cell architecture, the most spectacular application has to be the Roadrunner (Figure 3), which uses more than 12,000 Cell processors [1].

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Google Donates Memory Test Program

    The smaller than 200 KB Stressful Application Test (stressapptest) used by Google is now available through the Apache license 2.0.

  • Amazed

    Mazes fascinated even the ancient Greeks. Mike Schilli uses his Go programming skills to create a maze and then efficiently travel through it.

  • Electronic Weighing

    Create your own weighing device with easily available components and open source software.

  • Linux Supercomputer Roadrunner Takes Petaflops Hurdle

    The Roadrunner supercomputer developed by IBM for the Department of Energy at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is the first to take the Petaflops hurdle of 1.026 billion operations per second.

  • Firefox Phone Apps

    Cooking up an app for the Firefox OS is in no way difficult. All you need is a good measure of HTML and a dash of CSS. A few drops of JavaScript will bring it all to life.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News