pymc-devs / pymc-devs/pytensor

Remove old amdlib code

Open
#1,387 0 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

C-backend maintenance
Dominant language
Python
Stars
644
Forks
208
Avg merge
2d 14h
Merged PRs (30d)
16

Description

Description

Some of our ScalarOps have amd_float32 and amd_float64 properties to be used by the Elemwise C-code in contiguous cases. These operators like amd_vrda_log correspond to an old / sunsetted amd math library: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Core_Math_Library

The changes were introduced in 2013

The code is also untested (and I think broken). We should remove it for now. SIMD is a deep rabbit hole of its own. If someone wanted to work on this, it would probably make sense to use something modern and more portable like google's Highway: https://github.com/google/highway

This is what numpy is transitioting towards for their SIMD use-cases

It is also available on conda-forge and thus much easier for end-users to install.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by locating the ScalarOps definitions with amd_float32 and amd_float64 properties and the corresponding amd_vrda_log-style references used by the Elemwise C-code for contiguous cases. Remove the obsolete AMD math-library code and verify that the existing test suite still passes; SIMD replacement with Google Highway is outside this issue's scope.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c, python
Domain
performance
Issue type
Refactor
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.