Dear Joel,
Thank you for your quick reply. On 06/06/18 17:57, Joel Sherrill wrote:
On Wed, Jun 6, 2018 at 10:51 AM, Paul Menzel wrote:
Some scientists in our organization still want to use the Intel compiler, as they say, it produces faster code, which is then executed on clusters. Some resources on the Web [1][2] confirm this. (I am aware, that it’s heavily dependent on the actual program.)Do they have specific examples where icc is better for them? Or can point to specific GCC PRs which impact them? GCC versions? Are there specific CPU model variants of concern? What flags are used to compile? Some times a bit of advice can produce improvements. Without specific examples, it is hard to set goals.
I could get such examples, but it will take some time, as it’s from other institutes.
The clusters use exclusively Intel processors. (Hopefully, that will change.)
I also found the article from the German Linux-Magazin in an English version at the ADMIN Magazin [3]. The German article had a more strong statement, that they use the Intel compilers due to performance reasons.
My question is, is it realistic, that GCC could catch up and that the scientists will start to use it over Intel’s compiler? Or will Intel developers always have the lead, because they have secret documentation and direct contact with the processor designers? If it is realistic, how can we get there? Would first the program be written, and then the compiler be optimized for that? Or are just more GCC developers needed?For sure examples are needed so there are test cases to use for reference. If you want anything improved in any free software project, sponsoring developers is always a good thing. If you sponsor the right developers. :)
That’s what I hoped for, but didn’t ask here. If you could point me to a list of possible contractors, that would be great.
Please keep in mind, that in my organization certain decisions are made *very* slowly. I’ll try to get answers quickly, but procuring finances might take longer (half a year or much longer).
Kind regards, Paul
[3] http://www.admin-magazine.com/HPC/Articles/Selecting-Compilers-for-a-Supercomputer "HPC Compilers"[1]: https://colfaxresearch.com/compiler-comparison/ [2]: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.679.1280&rep=rep1&type=pdf
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