[Libre-soc-dev] idea: get grant from rust foundation to add powerpc/svp64 backend to cranelift

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

On Sunday, February 19, 2023, Jacob Lifshay via Libre-soc-dev <
libre-soc-dev at lists.libre-soc.org> wrote:
> https://foundation.rust-lang.org/grants/project-grants/
>
> they're planning on accepting grant requests again later this year.
>
> this benefits libre-soc because it would likely be our first
> production-grade compiler backend with at least some svp64 support,

gcc and llvm are the top critical priorities as they cover
the majority of software, especially ultra-low-level.

if you can happen to do something that happens to result
in work that can then be used by gcc or llvm (e.g a cranelift
backend) that would be fantastic.

> the
> plan is cranelift is going to be a supported backend for both kazan (one
of
> our vulkan drivers), and is already an experimental backend for rustc. we
> also benefit because rust will have a easily justifiable reason to add
> svp64 support for portable-simd, supporting variable length vectors
> (currently they're just depending on our intention to add svp64 support
> which hasn't yet materialized, so they don't have a super good reason to
> support svp64's quirks)

please for god's sake don't add 1 dimensional intrinsics.
(flat design). the damage it would do is incalculable and
would require extra effort to remove from lowlevel code
and also a mindset.

1.5 *MILLION* intrinsics.

instead introducing the lowlevel concept of a "loop intrinsic"
has astounding benefits for literally every single Vector and
SIMD ISA not just SVP64.

l.

-- 
---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68