Re: CUDA acceleration in GNU Octave

[Chengqi Chang]

On Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:39:44 +0800, John W. Eaton <address@hidden> wrote:

> On 22-Nov-2009, Chengqi Chang wrote:
>
> | I think it would be great if someone can provide a "bridge" -- like MPI
> | toolbox(http://atc.ugr.es/javier-bin/mpitb) -- connecting Octave and  
> CUDA
> | computing libraries. Besides, in my opinion, it matters little whether
> | this "bridge" is universal or tied to a single vendor (Nv/ATI). Both of
> | the two choices have merits and drawbacks. If it is tied to a single
> | vendor, it can be easier to take advantage of some special features of  
> the
> | GPU and it also has a larger possibility to get donation from that  
> vendor.
>
> Are the libraries that take advantage of this single vendor
> distributed under a license that is compatible with the GPL?
>
> If so, then I think this would be acceptable, but not great as it is
> still ties you to a single vendor.
>
> If not, then you would not be able to distribute .oct files that
> require these libraries, and such an extension would never become a
> part of the core Octave itself.  The Octave project is about software
> freedom, not about promoting links to proprietary software, or
> encouraging users to lock themselves into single-vendor solutions.
>
> jwe
GPL compatibility depends on how the libraries use CUDA -- if the libs  
only call them, GPL can be retained.
Since there are limited numbers of popular vendors, it is possible to  
initialize different projects. Once you buy your graphic card, you are  
actually tied to a vendor.
BTW, I like the freedom philosophy as well, while I think whether the  
freedom is pure or conditional on some exogenous constraints can be  
equally acceptable.

--
Best Regards!
---------------------------
Sincerely Yours             Chengqi Chang
China Center for Economic Research
Mail: address@hidden
Personal Website: http://macro2.cn