OpenJDK GPU project Sumatra goes to the vote
After an initial proposal last month, the project that wants to harness some extra GPU for the JVM has been created. Time to vote on it!
After its
initial proposal last month, a new OpenJDK
project has been created, aiming to establish whether Java
applications can harness any extra power from a GPU.
Keeping the Indonesian island theme, Project Sumatra will be
led by Hotspot JVM Lead John Coomes, and sponsored by the OpenJDK
Hotspot Group given their vested interest in eking out some GPU
performance in the standard Oracle JVM.
The initial Committer List for Sumatra includes some core
Java developer names including Java architect Brian Goetz, as well
as Eric Caspole, David Chase, Gary Frost and John Rose. Initial
Authors include Java Language Specification lead Alex Buckley, Tom
Deneau, Lee Howes, Mark Nutter and Vasanth
Venkatachalam.
Although the main focus is on getting GPU computational power
for Java, the remit includes other languages including Nashorn,
Scala and JRuby to open it up to all.
Now it falls to OpenJDK members to register their vote on the
initiative by Tuesday September 25. With numerous
GPU-focused projects shoring up recently and the shift to multicore
technology, it seems that this project has arrived at exactly the
right time. Any investigation that could potentially push the JVM
on is a good thing in our book.
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