After a humorous introductory skit, James Reinders and Dirk Hohndel of Intel discuss parallel programming and some of the challenges it poses. With the move by Intel and others to multi- and many core processors, there is a growing need for better tools to make parallel programming easier. To meet this need, Intel is releasing one of their proprietary products, Threading Building Blocks, as an open source project.
Threading Building Blocks is a C++ solution that uses templates and generic programming to make parallel development easier. It has been used by Intel for several years but by releasing it as an open source project, they hope to grow it to a compiler-, processor-, and operating system-independent tool. The accompanying website ThreadingBuildingBlocks.org has forums, documentation, and downloads available.
This move is the latest open source contribution from Intel, which has been actively involved in other open source projects like the Linux kernel. Other OSS projects from Intel include power management software that gives Linux laptops the longest battery life of any operating system and a solution for mobile internet devices.
Dirk Hohndel, Chief Linux and Open Source Technologist at Intel, has been an active developer and contributor in the Linux space since its earliest days. Among other roles, he worked as chief technology officer of SuSE and as vice president of The XFree86 Project, Inc. Prior to his position at SuSE, Dirk was Unix architect at Deutsche Bank; before that, he was a senior software engineer for AIB Software Corporation and PLATINUM technology. Dirk joined Intel in 2001. He works in the Software and Solutions Group and focuses on the technology direction of Intel's Open Source Technology Center. He is active in many open source organizations, various program committees and advisory boards. Dirk holds a diploma in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Würzburg, Germany.
James Reinders has contributed to projects including the world's first TeraFLOP supercomputer (ASCI Red), compilers and architecture work for a number of Intel processors and parallel systems. James Reinders is now the director of business development and chief evangelist for Intel's Software Development Products. Reinders also is the editorial columnist for the monthly "The Gauntlet" at www.devX.go-parallel.com, the author of the Intel Press book titled "VTune Performance Analyzer Essentials" and contributor to the new book "Multi-Core Programming."
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