Adding more cores is useless unless people learn how to code for them, but it is a method of increasing computing power cheaply.
It's NOT that difficult, especially when implementing what I call "implicitly ready smp"!
Done MAINLY via the use of Win32 API via "CreateThread" in say, Delphi!
(Delphi makes it simpler imo, to do them, than any other language for Win32 'standalone' non-interpreted apps (like VB & VC++ are, interpreted languages via runtime libs).
(Moreso VB, it is TOTALLY so, & VC++ can do a statically linked stand-alone, afaik too, but iirc, its runtime largely only runs the interface code - could be wrong here, I don't use it a lot anymore, & have not for years).
If you want to get MORE complex, & do "explicitly ready smp" code (as I call it), you need to do much more, like Processor Detections (how many) & SetThreadAffinityMask API calls etc.
NOW, the TRULY hard part?
Identifying WHAT functions and data can do this, w/ out hitting walls like "race conditions" (2 or more threads chasing time for working on the SAME data - not a GOOD idea, period, imo @ least).
W1zz's document states INTEL's working on that being more "automagic" in their compilers, & this? I do NOT doubt... INTEL has some of the BEST compilers & libs for them out there, @ least for C++...
VB.NET though, from my using it this year quite a lot, does make doing threadwork pretty much a 'snap' & maybe even simpler than Delphi, but I did hit snags w/ something called using "delegates" but this may just be my inexperience & incomplete mastery of VB.NET &/or ASP.NET @ this point is all!
APK
P.S.=> W1zz: Nice article, VERY enlightening man... thanks! I think I will have to 'browse' thru this section more tonite - if the reviews in here are of this level? Will be fun, & yes, enlightening... apk
