mirror of https://github.com/FreeRDP/FreeRDP
102 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
102 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
The Primitives Library
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Introduction
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------------
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The purpose of the primitives library is to give the freerdp code easy
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access to *run-time* optimization via SIMD operations. When the library
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is initialized, dynamic checks of processor features are run (such as
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the support of SSE3 or Neon), and entrypoints are linked to through
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function pointers to provide the fastest possible operations. All
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routines offer generic C alternatives as fallbacks.
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Run-time optimization has the advantage of allowing a single executable
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to run fast on multiple platforms with different SIMD capabilities.
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Use In Code
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-----------
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A singleton pointing to a structure containing the function pointers
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is accessed through primitives_get(). The function pointers can then
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be used from that structure, e.g.
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primitives_t *prims = primitives_get();
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prims->shiftC_16s(buffer, shifts, buffer, 256);
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Of course, there is some overhead in calling through the function pointer
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and setting up the SIMD operations, so it would be counterproductive to
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call the primitives library for very small operation, e.g. initializing an
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array of eight values to a constant. The primitives library is intended
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for larger-scale operations, e.g. arrays of size 64 and larger.
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Initialization and Cleanup
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--------------------------
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Library initialization is done the first time primitives_init() is called
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or the first time primitives_get() is used. Cleanup (if any) is done by
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primitives_deinit().
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Intel Integrated Performance Primitives (IPP)
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---------------------------------------------
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If freerdp is compiled with IPP support (-DWITH_IPP=ON), the IPP function
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calls will be used (where available) to fill the function pointers.
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Where possible, function names and parameter lists match IPP format so
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that the IPP functions can be plugged into the function pointers without
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a wrapper layer. Use of IPP is completely optional, and in many cases
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the SSE operations in the primitives library itself are faster or similar
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in performance.
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Coverage
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--------
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The primitives library is not meant to be comprehensive, offering
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entrypoints for every operation and operand type. Instead, the coverage
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is focused on operations known to be performance bottlenecks in the code.
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For instance, 16-bit signed operations are used widely in the RemoteFX
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software, so you'll find 16s versions of several operations, but there
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is no attempt to provide (unused) copies of the same code for 8u, 16u,
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32s, etc.
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New Optimizations
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-----------------
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As the need arises, new optimizations can be added to the library,
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including NEON, AVX, and perhaps OpenCL or other SIMD implementations.
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The CPU feature detection is done in winpr/sysinfo.
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Adding Entrypoints
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------------------
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As the need for new operations or operands arises, new entrypoints can
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be added.
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1) Function prototypes and pointers are added to
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include/freerdp/primitives.h
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2) New module initialization and cleanup function prototypes are added
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to prim_internal.h and called in primitives.c (primitives_init()
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and primitives_deinit()).
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3) Operation names and parameter lists should be compatible with the IPP.
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IPP manuals are available online at software.intel.com.
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4) A generic C entrypoint must be available as a fallback.
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5) prim_templates.h contains macro-based templates for simple operations,
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such as applying a single SSE operation to arrays of data.
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The template functions can frequently be used to extend the
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operations without writing a lot of new code.
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Cache Management
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----------------
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I haven't found a lot of speed improvement by attempting prefetch, and
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in fact it seems to have a negative impact in some cases. Done correctly
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perhaps the routines could be further accelerated by proper use of prefetch,
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fences, etc.
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Testing
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-------
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In the test subdirectory is an executable (prim_test) that tests both
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functionality and speed of primitives library operations. Any new
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modules should be added to that test, following the conventions already
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established in that directory. The program can be executed on various
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target hardware to compare generic C, optimized, and IPP performance
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with various array sizes.
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