The History of the GPU - Eras and Environment

The History of the GPU - Eras and Environment
Author: Jon Peddie
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2023-01-01
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 3031135814

This is the second book in a three-part series that traces the development of the GPU, which is defined as a single chip with an integrated transform and lighting (T&L) capability. This feature previously was found in workstations as a stand-alone chip that only performed geometry functions. Enabled by Moore’s law, the first era of GPUs began in the late 1990s. Silicon Graphics (SGI) introduced T&L first in 1996 with the Nintendo 64 chipset with integrated T&L but didn’t follow through. ArtX developed a chipset with integrated T&L but didn’t bring it to market until November 1999. The need to integrate the transform and lighting functions in the graphics controller was well understood and strongly desired by dozens of companies. Nvidia was the first to produce a PC consumer level single chip with T&L in October 1999. All in all, fifteen companies came close, they had designs and experience, but one thing or another got in their way to prevent them succeeding. All the forces and technology were converging; the GPU was ready to emerge. Several of the companies involved did produce an integrated GPU, but not until early 2000. This is the account of those companies, the GPU and the environment needed to support it. The GPU has become ubiquitous and can be found in every platform that involves a computer and a user interface.

The History of the GPU - New Developments

The History of the GPU - New Developments
Author: Jon Peddie
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2023-01-01
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 3031140478

This third book in the three-part series on the History of the GPU covers the second to sixth eras of the GPU, which can be found in anything that has a display or screen. The GPU is now part of supercomputers, PCs, Smartphones and tablets, wearables, game consoles and handhelds, TVs, and every type of vehicle including boats and planes. In the early 2000s the number of GPU suppliers consolidated to three whereas now, the number has expanded to almost 20. In 2022 the GPU market was worth over $250 billion with over 2.2 billion GPUs being sold just in PCs, and more than 10 billion in smartphones. Understanding the power and history of these devices is not only a fascinating tale, but one that will aid your understanding of some of the developments in consumer electronics, computers, new automobiles, and your fitness watch.

The History of the GPU - Steps to Invention

The History of the GPU - Steps to Invention
Author: Jon Peddie
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2023-01-01
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 3031109686

This is the first book in a three-part series that traces the development of the GPU. Initially developed for games the GPU can now be found in cars, supercomputers, watches, game consoles and more. GPU concepts go back to the 1970s when computer graphics was developed for computer-aided design of automobiles and airplanes. Early computer graphics systems were adopted by the film industry and simulators for airplanes and high energy physics—exploding nuclear bombs in computers instead of the atmosphere. A GPU has an integrated transform and lighting engine, but these were not available until the end of the 1990s. Heroic and historic companies expanded the development and capabilities of the graphics controller in pursuit of the ultimate device, a fully integrated self-contained GPU. Fifteen companies worked on building the first fully integrated GPU, some succeeded in the console, and Northbridge segments, and Nvidia was the first to offer a fully integrated GPU for the PC. Today the GPU can be found in every platform that involves a computer and a user interface.

The History of Visual Magic in Computers

The History of Visual Magic in Computers
Author: Jon Peddie
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2013-06-13
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1447149327

If you have ever looked at a fantastic adventure or science fiction movie, or an amazingly complex and rich computer game, or a TV commercial where cars or gas pumps or biscuits behaved liked people and wondered, “How do they do that?”, then you’ve experienced the magic of 3D worlds generated by a computer. 3D in computers began as a way to represent automotive designs and illustrate the construction of molecules. 3D graphics use evolved to visualizations of simulated data and artistic representations of imaginary worlds. In order to overcome the processing limitations of the computer, graphics had to exploit the characteristics of the eye and brain, and develop visual tricks to simulate realism. The goal is to create graphics images that will overcome the visual cues that cause disbelief and tell the viewer this is not real. Thousands of people over thousands of years have developed the building blocks and made the discoveries in mathematics and science to make such 3D magic possible, and The History of Visual Magic in Computers is dedicated to all of them and tells a little of their story. It traces the earliest understanding of 3D and then foundational mathematics to explain and construct 3D; from mechanical computers up to today’s tablets. Several of the amazing computer graphics algorithms and tricks came of periods where eruptions of new ideas and techniques seem to occur all at once. Applications emerged as the fundamentals of how to draw lines and create realistic images were better understood, leading to hardware 3D controllers that drive the display all the way to stereovision and virtual reality.

CUDA by Example

CUDA by Example
Author: Jason Sanders
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Total Pages: 524
Release: 2010-07-19
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0132180138

CUDA is a computing architecture designed to facilitate the development of parallel programs. In conjunction with a comprehensive software platform, the CUDA Architecture enables programmers to draw on the immense power of graphics processing units (GPUs) when building high-performance applications. GPUs, of course, have long been available for demanding graphics and game applications. CUDA now brings this valuable resource to programmers working on applications in other domains, including science, engineering, and finance. No knowledge of graphics programming is required—just the ability to program in a modestly extended version of C. CUDA by Example, written by two senior members of the CUDA software platform team, shows programmers how to employ this new technology. The authors introduce each area of CUDA development through working examples. After a concise introduction to the CUDA platform and architecture, as well as a quick-start guide to CUDA C, the book details the techniques and trade-offs associated with each key CUDA feature. You’ll discover when to use each CUDA C extension and how to write CUDA software that delivers truly outstanding performance. Major topics covered include Parallel programming Thread cooperation Constant memory and events Texture memory Graphics interoperability Atomics Streams CUDA C on multiple GPUs Advanced atomics Additional CUDA resources All the CUDA software tools you’ll need are freely available for download from NVIDIA. http://developer.nvidia.com/object/cuda-by-example.html

Chronology of Twentieth-Century History: Business and Commerce

Chronology of Twentieth-Century History: Business and Commerce
Author: Frank N. Magill
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 767
Release: 2014-04-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134264623

First Published in 2004. Volume II provides the hard facts and the history behind the headlines; significant 20th-century events in the evolution of all aspects of business and commerce are described in chronologically-arranged articles. The text of each article is divided into two sections: Summary of the Event describes the event itself and the circumstances leading up to it, and Impact of the Event analyzes the influence of the event on the evolution of business practice or on a major industry in both the short and long terms. Each article concludes with a fully annotated Bibliography.

Developments in Information & Knowledge Management for Business Applications

Developments in Information & Knowledge Management for Business Applications
Author: Natalia Kryvinska
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 587
Release: 2020-12-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3030621510

This book provides solutions to manage information competently in order to increase its business usage. The information/knowledge business is a highly-dynamic evolving industry, and the novel methodologies and practices for the business information processing, as well as application of mathematical models to the business analytics and efficient management, are the most essential for the decision-making and further development of this field. Consequently, in this series subline first volume, the authors study challenges and opportunities, as well as embrace different aspects of business information processing for an efficient enterprise management. The authors cover also methods and techniques, as well as strategies for the efficient business information processing for management. Besides, the authors analyse strategies for lowering business information/data loss, while improving customer satisfaction and maintenance levels. The major goal is to analyse the key aspects of managerial implications on the informational business on the continuous basis.

Ray Tracing: A Tool for All

Ray Tracing: A Tool for All
Author: Jon Peddie
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2019-08-08
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 3030174905

This is the first book to offer a comprehensive overview for anyone wanting to understand the benefits and opportunities of ray tracing, as well as some of the challenges, without having to learn how to program or be an optics scientist. It demystifies ray tracing and brings forward the need and benefit of using ray tracing throughout the development of a film, product, or building — from pitch to prototype to marketing. Ray Tracing and Rendering clarifies the difference between conventional faked rendering and physically correct, photo-realistic ray traced rendering, and explains how programmer’s time, and backend compositing time are saved while producing more accurate representations with 3D models that move. Often considered an esoteric subject the author takes ray tracing out of the confines of the programmer’s lair and shows how all levels of users from concept to construction and sales can benefit without being forced to be a practitioner. It treats both theoretical and practical aspects of the subject as well as giving insights into all the major ray tracing programs and how many of them came about. It will enrich the readers’ understanding of what a difference an accurate high-fidelity image can make to the viewer — our eyes are incredibly sensitive to flaws and distortions and we quickly disregard things that look phony or unreal. Such dismissal by a potential user or customer can spell disaster for a supplier, producer, or developer. If it looks real it will sell, even if it is a fantasy animation. Ray tracing is now within reach of every producer and marketeer, and at prices one can afford, and with production times that meet the demands of today’s fast world.

The Cg Tutorial

The Cg Tutorial
Author: Randima Fernando
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2003
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 9780321194961

Cg is a complete programming environment for the fast creation of special effects and real-time cinematic quality experiences on multiple platforms. This text provides a guide to the Cg graphics language.