C++ AMP

Chapter 6. Debugging

In this chapter:

First Steps

GPU Debugging Basics

Seeing Threads

Taking More Control

Summary

First Steps

Debugging on the GPU feels a lot like debugging on the CPU, even though the underlying mechanics are quite different. Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 makes it simple to step through code that is inside a parallel_for_each or called from one. Even though your code is translated into HLSL and shipped to the GPU to execute there, Visual Studio gives you the illusion of a call stack and a familiar debugging environment.

In general, you debug on an emulated accelerator called the reference accelerator. It’s very slow—slower than running the code on the CPU without C++ AMP—but it’s accurate and complete, and after all, when you’re debugging, ...