sequences of a vector math calculation; such implementations include

Multimedia Extensions (MMX), AMD’s 3DNow! Professional, or the

Gekko chip, where only half vectors are dealt with at any one time.
These advances, however, have been a boon for engineers on a budget
as their vector-based math used in scientific applications can run faster
on these newer computers when properly coded due to their vector math
ability. The “catch” here is that vector processors have special memory
requirements and must use math libraries designed to use that special
vector functionality of the processor, not that of the slower standard
floating-point unit (FPU), which is still present on the chip. Third-party
libraries tend to be biased toward a favorite processor or are just written
with generic code and thus will not run efficiently on some processors
and/or take advantage of some instruction-based shortcuts.
A full vector processor can be given sequences and arrays of calculations to
perform. They typically have their own instruction set
devoted to the movement of mathematical values to and from memory,
as well as the arithmetic instructions to perform the needed transformations on
those values. This allows them to be assigned a mathematical
task and thus free the computer system’s processor(s) to handle the
other running tasks of the application.
The cost of a personal supercomputer was out of range for most
consumers until the end of 2000 with the release of the PlayStation 2
console (PS2) by Sony. Rumor has it that if you interconnect multiple
PS2 consoles as a cluster, you will have a poor man’s supercomputer. In
fact, Sony announced that they would be planning to manufacture the
“GSCube,” a product based upon interconnecting 16 emotion engines
and graphic synthesizers.
Actually, if you think about it, it is a pretty cool idea. A low-budget
version would mean that each console on a rack boots their cluster
CD/DVD with their TCP/IP network connection and optional hard disk,
and their network link becomes a cheap mathematical numbercrunching supercomputer
cluster slave.
The vector processor is the next logical step for the microcomputer used in the
home and office, so in this book, we will discuss
the instruction sets that they have as well as how to use them. This book
is targeted at programmers who are less likely to have access to the
expensive supercomputers, but instead have access to licensed console
development boxes, console Linux Dev Kits, cheap unauthorized (and
possibly illegal) hacker setups, or the new inexpensive embedded DSP
vector coprocessors coming out in the market as you read this