PathScale
Encyclopedia
PathScale Inc. is a company that develops a highly optimizing compiler
for the x86-64
microprocessor
architectures. It derives from the SGI
compilers for the MIPS
R10000
processor, called MIPSPro. PathScale was originally founded in 2001 as Key Research and its original mission was to develop clustered
Linux
server solutions based on a low-cost 64-bit design. In late 2003 the company came out of stealth mode and was called PathScale. The word PathScale is descriptive of the company's original design goals for clusters. In early 2003 with the success of the AMD Opteron efforts at the company switched to other products like high-performance 64-bit compiler
s.
One might say the seeds of the company were sown over 20 years ago at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
. Four of the company's seven founders all worked together building the S1 supercomputer
back in the early 1980s. The first Chief technical officer
at PathScale, Dr. Tom McWilliams, had the initial idea for the company and incorporated in July 2001. He added three of his LLNL colleagues (Jeff Rubin, Jeff Broughton, Dr. Fred Chow) to the company shortly thereafter. Tom McWilliams had been a company founder at Valid Logic
and Key Computer and has worked at SGI, Sun
and Amdahl
. Dr. Chow was formerly chief scientist for compilers at SGI and MIPS.
PathScale Inc. has been acquired and re-sold several times: by QLogic
in February 2006, by SiCortex
in August 2007, and by Cray
in August 2009, when SiCortex was liquidated. Cray owns the intellectual property, but the former open-source company NetSyncro has renamed itself to PathScale Inc., and has an exclusive right to develop the PathScale EKOPath compiler.
On the 13th of June 2011, PathScale announced that the EKOPath 4 Compiler Suite will become open source software and licensed under the GPL.
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
for the x86-64
X86-64
x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...
microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
architectures. It derives from the SGI
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
compilers for the MIPS
MIPS architecture
MIPS is a reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies . The early MIPS architectures were 32-bit, and later versions were 64-bit...
R10000
R10000
The R10000, code-named "T5", is a RISC microprocessor implementation of the MIPS IV instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies, Inc. , then a division of Silicon Graphics, Inc. . The chief designers were Chris Rowen and Kenneth C. Yeager...
processor, called MIPSPro. PathScale was originally founded in 2001 as Key Research and its original mission was to develop clustered
Cluster (computing)
A computer cluster is a group of linked computers, working together closely thus in many respects forming a single computer. The components of a cluster are commonly, but not always, connected to each other through fast local area networks...
Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
server solutions based on a low-cost 64-bit design. In late 2003 the company came out of stealth mode and was called PathScale. The word PathScale is descriptive of the company's original design goals for clusters. In early 2003 with the success of the AMD Opteron efforts at the company switched to other products like high-performance 64-bit compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
s.
One might say the seeds of the company were sown over 20 years ago at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
. Four of the company's seven founders all worked together building the S1 supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
back in the early 1980s. The first Chief technical officer
Chief technical officer
A chief technology officer is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization....
at PathScale, Dr. Tom McWilliams, had the initial idea for the company and incorporated in July 2001. He added three of his LLNL colleagues (Jeff Rubin, Jeff Broughton, Dr. Fred Chow) to the company shortly thereafter. Tom McWilliams had been a company founder at Valid Logic
Valid Logic Systems
Valid Logic Systems was one of the first commercial EDA electronic design automation companies. It was founded in the early 1980s, along with Daisy Systems Corporation and Mentor Graphics, collectively known as DMV....
and Key Computer and has worked at SGI, Sun
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
and Amdahl
Amdahl Corporation
Amdahl Corporation is an information technology company which specializes in IBM mainframe-compatible computer products. Founded in 1970 by Dr. Gene Amdahl, a former IBM employee, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu since 1997...
. Dr. Chow was formerly chief scientist for compilers at SGI and MIPS.
PathScale Inc. has been acquired and re-sold several times: by QLogic
QLogic
QLogic Corporation is an Aliso Viejo, California-based designer and supplier of storage networking, high performance computing networking, and converged infrastructure solutions...
in February 2006, by SiCortex
SiCortex
SiCortex is a supercomputer manufacturer founded in 2003 and headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts. On 27 May 2009, HPCwire reported that the company had shut down its operations, laid off most of its staff, and is seeking a buyer for its assets. The Register reported that Gerbsman Partners was...
in August 2007, and by Cray
Cray
Cray Inc. is an American supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington. The company's predecessor, Cray Research, Inc. , was founded in 1972 by computer designer Seymour Cray. Seymour Cray went on to form the spin-off Cray Computer Corporation , in 1989, which went bankrupt in 1995,...
in August 2009, when SiCortex was liquidated. Cray owns the intellectual property, but the former open-source company NetSyncro has renamed itself to PathScale Inc., and has an exclusive right to develop the PathScale EKOPath compiler.
On the 13th of June 2011, PathScale announced that the EKOPath 4 Compiler Suite will become open source software and licensed under the GPL.
Contents of the PathScale EKOPath Compiler Suite
- CC (programming language)C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
, C++C++C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
, and FortranFortranFortran is a general-purpose, procedural, imperative programming language that is especially suited to numeric computation and scientific computing...
77/90/95/2003 (partial) compilers - Complete support for OpenMPOpenMPOpenMP is an API that supports multi-platform shared memory multiprocessing programming in C, C++, and Fortran, on most processor architectures and operating systems, including Linux, Unix, AIX, Solaris, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows platforms...
2.5 (including WORKSHARE) - Complete support for 64-bit and 32-bit x86 compilation
- Code generation for AMD64 ABIApplication binary interfaceIn computer software, an application binary interface describes the low-level interface between an application program and the operating system or another application.- Description :...
, AMD Opteron, and Intel EM64T - Optimized AMD Core Math Library
- Advanced multi-threaded debugger — PathDB
- Compatible with GNUGNUGNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
/gccGNU Compiler CollectionThe GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...
tool chain and popular third-party debuggers - Supported on SUSESUSE Linux distributionsSUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...
, Red HatRed HatRed Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
, and UbuntuUbuntu (operating system)Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
See also
- List of compilers
- GPGPUGPGPUGeneral-purpose computing on graphics processing units is the technique of using a GPU, which typically handles computation only for computer graphics, to perform computation in applications traditionally handled by the CPU...
- OpenMPOpenMPOpenMP is an API that supports multi-platform shared memory multiprocessing programming in C, C++, and Fortran, on most processor architectures and operating systems, including Linux, Unix, AIX, Solaris, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows platforms...
- High-performance computingHigh-performance computingHigh-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...