Performance Lab #

Contents #

• Files downloaded from CS:APP website as perflab-handout.tar, and listed below in the original README contents

Lab Assignment Write-Up #

csapp.cs.cmu.edu/3e/perflab.pdf.

This write-up is pretty helpful for even those doing self-study. Read through it to learn how to approach this lab’s problem.

Original README.md #

This section is copied from csapp.cs.cmu.edu/3e/README-archlab. It was modified only to conform to standard Markdown formatting.

It is not particularly useful for people doing self-study, but is reproduced here anyway.

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# CS:APP Performance Lab
# Directions to Instructors
#
# Copyright (c) 2002, R. Bryant and D. O'Hallaron, All rights reserved.
# May not be used, modified, or copied without permission.
#
######################################################################

This directory contains the files that you will need to run the CS:APP Performance Lab, which develops the students’s understanding of the performance impact of caches and code optimizations such as blocking and loop unrolling.

1. Overview #

In this lab, students work on a C file, called kernels.c, that contains some image processing kernels. The students are asked to use the concepts they have learned in class to make these kernels run as fast as possible.

Students evaluate the performance of their kernels by linking kernels.c into a driver program called driver.c. Students can register different versions of their kernel functions with the driver. When the driver runs, it will execute, measure, and report on the performance of each registered function. This is a very useful versioning feature that allows students try out different approaches and do side by side comparisons.

You should strongly encourage your students to take advantage of this versioning feature in the driver.

2. Files #

• Makefile Builds the entire lab
• README This file
• src/ Driver code that runs and measures solutions
• perflab-handout/ Handout directory that goes to the students
• grade/ Autograder code
• writeup/ Sample Latex lab writeup

3. Building the Lab #

To build the lab, modify the Latex lab writeup in ./writeup/perflab.tex for your environment. Then type the following in the current directory:

unix> make clean
unix> make 

The Makefile generates the driver code, formats the lab writeup, and then copies the driver code to the perflab-handout directory. Finally, it builds a tarfile of the perflab-handout directory (in perflab-handout.tar) which you can distribute to students. The command:

unix> make dist DEST=<DIR>

will copy the tarfile and copies of the writeup to directory