Re: Candidate Linux ABI for Intel AMX and hypothetical new related features

[Enrico Weigelt, metux IT consult]

On 24.06.21 01:11, Len Brown wrote:
> >    x86 CPU features detection for applications (and AMX)
> >    <https://lore.kernel.org/linux-api/87tulo39ms.fsf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/>
>
> FWIW, I didn't receive it, because you excluded
>
> linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

me neither :(

Maybe just repost it to LKML ?

You mention the interface *was* designed with cpu features remaining
constant over a process' lifetime. Between the line I'm reading that
this might not be the case anymore.

How could that happen ? Process migration on a different CPU (or perhaps
on a different host) ?

This is gonna be tricky, because this somehow needs to be synchronized
with the application (even if we check the bits before calling some
cpu-specific opcode, which also has some performance cost), there's
still some window where the application might not yet recognize the
change. So either we need some explicit migration points (where app
tells, please let me finish this func first) or transparent emulation.

Damn, how could the cpu designers come up with such weird concepts
in the first place ? :o


--mtx

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Enrico Weigelt, metux IT consult
Free software and Linux embedded engineering
info@xxxxxxxxx -- +49-151-27565287