VectorZ Compatibility

VectorZ was originally developed for PowerPC processors having the AltiVec™ or VMX™ instruction set. As part of the original development effort, a non-SIMD standard C version of the library was developed to support verification. The standard C version facilitates rapid migration of a non-SIMD version of the library to a variety of processors and target operating systems, allowing algorithm development and test to take place on readily-available platforms.

The table below illustrates current processor and operating system targets. This list is constantly expanding. Please check our web site www.quasarsystemsinc.com for an up-to-date list of processors and operating systems.

Target Processors

VectorZ has been tested on Freescale 7400, 7410, 744x, 745x, and IBM PowerPC 970 processors. These processors provide the same set of SIMD instructions. Although the data cache line width varies from processor to processor, VectorZ automatically determines the data cache width of PowerPC processors and adapts at run-time.

In order to support cross-development and algorithm test/support, VectorZ also includes non-SIMD, portable libraries that run on SPARC and Intel processors under Linux, Unix, and Windows. VectorZ for other processors can be made available upon request.

Compatibility with Future Processors

VectorZ is compatible with all future processors that implement the VMX or AltiVec extensions. These processors include the Freescale 864x series, the IBM Cell processor (the processor core), and dual-core versions of the IBM PowerPC 970.

VectorZ is designed for processors having long instruction execution pipeline. For processors having shorter pipelines, VectorZ will provide the same high-level of performance. A version of VectorZ based on the Intel SSE-3 instruction set is also planned. This release will bring VectorZ SIMD performance to Intel-based platforms.

Operating System Compatibility

VectorZ is operating-system agnostic, relying on a small number of standard C library functions. These functions are common to both embedded and non-embedded operating systems. VectorZ libraries are delivered in Mach, ELF, and Windows statically-linked library formats. These formats are compatible with Unix, Linux, Windows, and most embedded operating systems supporting ELF object files, including VxWorks.

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