FPGAs, GPUs and the PS2 - A Single Programming Methodology

Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs) and Sony's Playstation 2 vector units offer scope for hardware acceleration of applications. Implementing algorithms on multiple architectures can be a long and complicated process. We demonstrate an approach to compiling for FPGAs, GPUs and PS2 vector units using a unified description based on A Stream Compiler (ASC) for FPGAs. As an example of its use we implement a Monte Carlo simulation using ASC. The unified description allows us to evaluate optimisations for specific architectures on top of a single base description, saving time and effort