Last time I looked for informations about multiprocessing in case of PPC/Morphos and I found the forum conversation
'https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?forum=11&topic_id=6465&viewmode=flat&sortorder=0&start=0'.
It is quite interesting and I realized we have everything what we need at the moment. Many of us have dual processors PMs,
unfortunately we don't take advantage of this fact even for simple reasons like 'dnetc' - what's the pity!!
I talked to a few my colleges, programmers and the solution is relatively easy - AMP (asymmetric multiprocessing). It would
guarantee quite fast progress and not too much work. More over, they promised to support such a project. Would it be a good
idea to establish a new bounty? I think our small community could afford to pay for something like this and the project
is worth reconsideration.

Quark should be able to handle another box, seperate from Abox.
Here's the question, what do you want it to do?

> Quark should be able to handle another box, seperate from Abox.

Implementing AMP wouldn't require any additional box.

> what do you want it to do?

He mentioned one example (dnetc) ;-)

Andreas_Wolf,
Quote:

Using a seond CPU from within Abox?

Yeah, that could be done.
In fact, since both CPU use common memory, with proper memory mapping some fairly interesting things could be done.

How about offloading encoding and decoding tasks?

> Using a seond CPU from within Abox? Yeah, that could be done.
> [...] How about offloading encoding and decoding tasks?

Exactly. And we already had it in the PowerUP/WarpOS days.

More over it is much easier, because we use exactly the same type of processors

My 2nd processor will be so grateful to wkae up on MOS on tasks like FLAC encoding or video processing via mencoder... Would be great but i think MOS team is focused in other tasks nowadays.
I'll be more than glad to be contradicted in this

Yeah, my MP has waiting since I've bought it :)

[ Edited by zbysiuk 09.10.2012 - 09:19 ]

My 2nd processor will be so grateful to wkae up on MOS on tasks like FLAC encoding or video processing via mencoder...

It can be probably easily done with Reggae. It already creates a subprocess automatically for encoding or decoding. This subprocess is well isolated. In case of running on secondary core/processor it would only need two things: basic interprocess communication (signals, semaphores, messages) and memory allocator.

It is understandable that giving the second processor access to all the system resources wil create a total mess, as most of MorphOS is not designed to be run on multiple processors. Noone sane will have such a plan, as it basically means total system rewrite and loosing all the current software base. However if we limit such processes to memory and IPC, it can be added relatively easy, without breaking backward compatibility, and it will be still very useful. Don't forget that the second CPU in all supported G4 PowerMacs has also an AltiVec unit .

If the first step is done, some more elements of MorphOS may be made accessible from multiple cores step by step.

More over it is much easier, because we use exactly the same type of processors.

Also, unlike in PowerUP/WarpOS, on G4 double processor Macs, cache coherency between processors is kept by hardware.

Quote:

Could the addition of AMP support (just for memory/IPC processes) be speed up by some kind of bounty?

I do not think it is the job for MOSTeam but for people connected to MTeam working independently. It is obvious that the project would has to be supported by e.g. Quark documentation. That is why, bounty looks for me like only solution.
The question is, how dear is it and who is ready to do it?

> the project would has to be supported by e.g. Quark documentation.

If access to the Quark API is really required I have a feeling that not all MorphOS Team members would support such endeavour ;-)

If access to the Quark API is really required

In fact something has to set up secondary processor[s] and start user code loop on them. I mean code running on user level of CPU privileges, the whole MorphOS runs on user level. Such a loop would be able to communicate with the main processor and receive tasks to execute. This "something" mentioned before must be Quark. It already does it in some degree, as it detects secondary processors and puts them in some "hibernation" state. So in fact implementing AMP may require some (not big I believe) Quark modifications, rather than access to its API.

Would indeed be very cool, if a bounty will be set up at laest to use the 2nd cpu act as a co-processor I'll put some money on it for sure!
Thanx Krahsan, it's nice to read your posts with technical explanations also for a noob in programming like me Thanx man!

No more work would be required if morphos worked with G5 four cores. That is a real benefit. You just turn on your computer and here we go, 4 processors runing :)

Actually Quark really do something for 2-nd processor: detecting and stopping it, so first step is done

> Actually Quark really do something for 2-nd processor: detecting and stopping it

And that's even without Quark documentation available ;-)