Get Accelerated with C++ AMP

This month's issue of MSDN Magazine includes a pair of feature articles on the new Accelerated Massive Parallelism (AMP) features of C+11 and the Visual C++ 11 IDE. Titled A Code-Based Introduction to C++ AMP and Introduction to Tiling in C++ AMP, the articles are written by Daniel Moth, program manager for C++ AMP at Microsoft, and show how developers can leverage hardware like graphics processing units (GPU) to achieve new levels of performance and parallelism.

As Moth puts it, "C++ AMP brings heterogeneous computing to the mainstream," offering the potential for "orders of magnitude speed gains compared with just using the CPU only."

What advice does Moth offer for devs curious about C++ AMP? He urges readers to visit the Parallel Programming in Native Code blog for explanations, tips, patterns and samples related to C++ AMP. He also singles out a few specific blog posts here, here and here.

Educating developers on C++ AMP is part of his job, but Moth says writing the two feature articles did prove to be something of a challenge. He singles out the placement and use of code figures and screen shots in the magazine layout as a pain point. Not that he's complaining.

"It is always great to write about a technology," Moth says, "because it is an indication that you really understand a topic when you are able to explain it in writing to someone else."

Check out Moth’s April articles on C++ AMP: A Code-Based Introduction to C++ AMP and Introduction to Tiling in C++ AMP.