GPU Tools | AMD Developer Central.
AMD has an excellent collection of tools for OpenCL and Shader development in the GPU Tools area. Included are PerfStudio, a performance analysis and debugging tool, and ShaderAnalizer for analysing the performance of individual shaders. Currently they only work with Compatibility Profile, hope an update will cover the more recent versions.
CUDA Toolkit 4.0 (RC1) has been available for some time for registered developers. CUDA Toolkit 4.0 RC2 is now available to download at NVIDIA Developer Zone.
Also available is a release feature overview presentation (audio+slides).
Assimp is a Cross-Platform Open Source Library to load 3D modes. Currently, as of version 2.0, it can import an impressive list of formats and it also exports to Collada and 3DS MAX. Once loaded, all the models attributes are easily accessible through the API.
The library also performs some post processing tasks on the imported models. These range from the common triangulation and conversion to left handed systems (Direct3D is an example), to mesh performance tunning and improve vertex cache locality.
Assimp is tailored at typical game scenarios by supporting a node hierarchy, static or skinned meshes, materials, bone animations and potential texture data.
It is fairly easy to use Assimp in an OpenGL context, and a few demos are provided in the release package.
Free3DModelZ.com – Several models in many categories. Formats: 3DS and MAX. All models are free for personal and non-commercial use and for learning purpose.
[youtubeV youtubeurl=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBH1dcHoL6Y” width=”350″ height=”300″]
A wonderful montage of Pixars movies, including all feature films and shorts by NkMcdonalds. Continue reading »
“Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comics often conceal the existential despair of their world with a closing joke at the characters’ expense. With the last panel omitted, despair pervades all.” 3eanuts.
The PipelineKit is an open source project originated at AMD to develop a visual and high level programming environment for OpenCL and DirectCompute applications running on GPUs, APUs and multi-core CPUs. A textual pipeline description language describes buffers, kernels, uniforms, invariants, and control graphs with stages that together comprise a computational pipeline. A pipeline generator compiles that description into C++ and OpenCL or DirectCompute code that executes the specified control graphs while preserving the specified invariants at runtime. The generator also produces a framework for unit testing; some debugging/data capture features, as well as templates for the corresponding kernels or ComputeShaders. Software developers are responsible for filling in the kernels or ComputeShaders. The PipelineKit and the code it generates run on Linux, Mac OS and Windows. It supports multiple GPUs within a workstation and provides barrier synchronizations among graphs running on different GPUs. Recently work has begun on a visual editor that lets you directly edit the control and data flow graphs (please see screenshot). This editor is a functional prototype.