SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The migration to multicore processing, though fraught with challenges, is the only plausible way to achieve the computing performance required in the not-to-distant future, concluded a panel of executives at the Multicore Expo here Thursday (March 23).
Saying that the semiconductor industry has “hit a wall” with single-core processing Sven Brehmer, president and CEO of PolyCore Software Inc., maintained that moving to multicore is the only way to progress.
“Even if this is a very painful thing to do, we have to move forward with it,” Bremer said. Bremer later added that, even if a better alternative to multicore architecture suddenly emerged, it would be five to 10 years before it could be implemented.
The pain Bremer referred to is multi-faceted, related to a myriad of challenges facing multicore processors, including programming difficulties and a lack of development environments. Designing a multicore architecture is only half the battle — efficient multicore development environments remain elusive, according to panelists.