improved comments

This commit is contained in:
Davis King 2013-03-03 12:13:05 -05:00
parent 649ed2f160
commit ce6bdde581

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@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
C++ Library.
Normally, a for loop executes the body of the loop in a serial manner. This means
that, for example, if it takes 1 second to execute the body of the loop and the loop
body needs to execute 10 times then it will take 10 seconds to execute the entire loop.
that, for example, if it takes 1 second to execute the body of the loop and the body
needs to execute 10 times then it will take 10 seconds to execute the entire loop.
However, on modern multi-core computers we have the opportunity to speed this up by
executing multiple steps of a for loop in parallel. This example program will walk you
though a few examples showing how to do just that.
@ -43,12 +43,12 @@ void example_without_using_lambda_functions();
int main()
{
// We have 3 examples, each contained in a separate function. Each example performs
// exactly the same computation, however, the second two do so using parallel for
// loops. So the first example is here to show you what we are doing in terms of
// exactly the same computation, however, the second two examples do so using parallel
// for loops. So the first example is here to show you what we are doing in terms of
// classical non-parallel for loops. Then the next two examples will illustrate two
// ways to write parallelize the for loops in C++. The first, and simplest way, uses
// C++11 lambda functions. Since lambda functions are a relatively recent addition to
// C++ we also show how to write parallel for loops without using lambda functions.
// ways to parallelize for loops in C++. The first, and simplest way, uses C++11
// lambda functions. However, since lambda functions are a relatively recent addition
// to C++ we also show how to write parallel for loops without using lambda functions.
// This way, users who don't yet have access to a current C++ compiler can learn to
// write parallel for loops as well.
@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ void example_using_regular_non_parallel_loops()
// Assign only part of the elements in vect.
vect.assign(10, -1);
for (unsigned long i = 1; i < 5; ++i)
{
@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ void example_using_regular_non_parallel_loops()
// Sum all element sin vect.
int sum = 0;
vect.assign(10, 2);
for (unsigned long i = 0; i < vect.size(); ++i)
@ -118,7 +120,7 @@ void example_using_lambda_functions()
vect.assign(10, -1);
parallel_for(num_threads, 0, vect.size(), [&](long i){
// The i variable is the loop counter as in a normal for loop. So we simply need
// to place the body of the for loop right here and we get the same thing. The
// to place the body of the for loop right here and we get the same behavior. The
// range for the for loop is determined by the 2nd and 3rd arguments to
// parallel_for().
vect[i] = i;
@ -127,6 +129,7 @@ void example_using_lambda_functions()
print(vect);
// Assign only part of the elements in vect.
vect.assign(10, -1);
parallel_for(num_threads, 1, 5, [&](long i){
vect[i] = i;
@ -139,7 +142,7 @@ void example_using_lambda_functions()
// independent. In the first two cases each iteration of the loop touched different
// memory locations, so we didn't need to use any kind of thread synchronization.
// However, in the summing loop we need to add some synchronization to protect the sum
// variable. This is easy accomplished by creating a mutex and locking it before
// variable. This is easily accomplished by creating a mutex and locking it before
// adding to sum. More generally, you must ensure that the bodies of your parallel for
// loops are thread safe using whatever means is appropriate for your code. Since a
// parallel for loop is implemented using threads, all the usual techniques for