Overview
VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) and SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) are processor architecture techniques that enable parallel execution of multiple operations.
This guide covers the key concepts needed to understand and optimize for VLIW SIMD architectures.
Documents
Scalar vs Vector - Understanding the difference between processing one value vs eight values at once
ALU and Engines - What ALU means and the five execution engines in this architecture
VLIW Architecture - How Very Long Instruction Word architectures work
Instruction Set Reference - Complete list of available instructions
Optimization Strategies - Techniques to reduce cycle count
Key Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| VLIW | Explicit instruction-level parallelism scheduled by compiler/programmer |
| SIMD | Data-level parallelism via vector operations |
| Vector Length | Number of elements processed simultaneously (commonly 4, 8, or 16) |
| Instruction Bundle | Group of operations executed in one cycle |
Learning Path
Start with Scalar vs Vector to understand data parallelism, then proceed through the documents in order.
Related Project
These notes were developed while studying the Anthropic Performance Take-Home challenge, which provides a hands-on way to apply these concepts.