Re: octave in multiprocessor cpu (Carlo Sartori)

[Chengqi Zhang]

On Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:57:40 +0800, <address@hidden> wrote:

> Hi
> I like to know if octave can use multiprocessor cpu. I have a Intel i7
> 720 CPU, Ubuntu see the 8 core correctly (4 real core with double
> processing for each one) but octave use only one at time. For me it is
> like if I have a cpu with only 800 MHz.
> thank for your answer
> Carlo

The answer is: partly yes。
Parallel code, either written by yourself or downloaded from web, is  
required for Octave to fully occupy your 4 cores. There are several  
approaches:
1. There are already some parallel toolboxes for Octave in the  
octave-forge site. Try to find something suitable for you.
2. You may use MPI-toolbox for Octave. Search "mpitb" in google. This  
toolbox takes the message passing approach for parallel computing.
3. I do not know whether we can use openMP in Octave directly, nor do I  
find any explicit answer on Internet. But it is an option.

I am not familiar with approaches 1 and 3. I only write MPI code using  
Octave. Although it is not designed for dual/quad core computers, it works  
satisfactorily, at least from my point of view.
Besides, I've also written a paper regarding an application of MPITB in  
macroeconomics. If you are interested in it, you can download it(with  
source code and experiment data) from: http://macro2.cn/paper/ppfi/	(DO be  
esp. CAREFUL when you visit the URL these days! The server is under  
hacker's attacker, while my ISP seems helpless. :(

--
Best Regards!
---------------------------
Sincerely,                      Chengqi Zhang
China Center for Economic Research
Mail: address@hidden
Personal Website: http://macro2.cn