CUDA ("Compute Unified Device Architecture"), is a GPGPU technology that allows a programmer to use the C programming language to code algorithms for execution on the GPU. CUDA has been developed by NVIDIA and to use this architecture requires an NVIDIA GPU and special stream processing drivers. CUDA only works with the new G80 GPU series GeForce 8800. CUDA gives developers unfettered access to the native instruction set and memory of the massively parallel computational elements in CUDA GPUs. Using CUDA, NVIDIA GeForce-based GPUs effectively become powerful, programmable open architectures like today’s central processing units (CPUs). By opening up the architecture, CUDA provides developers both with the low-level, deterministic, and high-level API for repeatable access to hardware that is necessary to develop essential tools such as compilers, debuggers, math libraries, and application platforms.
The CUDA SDK has been made public 15th february 2007.[1]
See also
- CTM (Close To Metal), AMD/ATI's competing GPGPU technology for ATI Rade-based [GPU]s
- Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
- Stream Processor
- Shader
- Sh, a GPGPU library for C++
- Stream programming
- GPGPU (General-Purpose Computing on Graphics Processing Units)
- Physics Processing Unit (PPU)
- Audio_Processing_Unit (APU)
External links
- NVIDIA CUDA Homepage
- NVIDIA CUDA GPU Computing developer forums
- NVIDIA CUDA developer registration for professional developers and researchers