Intel makes compilers for C, C++, and Fortran. As far as I can tell, they do not make compilers for Lisp, Haskell, OCaml, or any other higher-level languages. Intel knows more about how to get the most out of their own chips, than just about anybody else. Intel compilers are a means to make their chips look good, so naturally a lot of effort goes into making them work right. When you speak of other languages, few people have the resources and the specialized expertise to properly take advantage of the chips. Indeed, many higher-level compilers use C as an intermediate language, the better to leverage existing work on optimization and support of multiple targets. Why reinvent the wheel? It isn't easy to support multiple varieties of the Power, x86, MIPS, SPARC, and umpty-seven other architectures. C makes a handy portable target.
The SSE4 SIMD (single instruction, multiple data ) instructions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSE4 - introduced with the Penryn chips, makes for interesting reading. There are instructions for dot products, the sum of absolute differences, counting bits in a population in a single cycle, and so forth. It would take a clever compiler to find opportunities to use these effectively. Terry McIntyre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
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