WebCL – Heterogeneous parallel computing in HTML5 web browsers

https://www.khronos.org/webcl/

by matt42 • 12 years ago

72 28 12 years ago

One one hand I'm happy to see the web able to do more and more. On the other hand, I worry that as we turn the browser into a platform with all these client side capabilities, browsers will become big complicated messes.

vezzy-fnord• 12 years ago

They already are, to one extent or another. Browsers are rivaling monolithic kernels and entire operating systems with userspace applications in size.

Rusky3• 12 years ago

I wish we would see more browser features (cross-browser standards, app deployment style, ability to run random 3rd party code relatively securely, app interoperability) moved into the OS, rather than more OS features moved into the browser.

maaku• 12 years ago

I worry that as we turn the browser into a platform with all these client side capabilities, browsers will become big complicated messes.

They aren't already?

kevingadd• 12 years ago

Relevant Bugzilla bug for Gecko: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=664147#c30

An interesting spec, certainly, but no traction so far. A bit unfortunate. It sounds like on desktops the ARB_compute_shader GL extension provides a lot of the functionality you'd get through OpenCL with less new feature surface (it can piggy-back on WebGL), while on mobile there is currently not common access to OpenCL. Interested to see whether either of those situations change.

rpwverheij• 12 years ago

yes I'd be interested to see that too. I mean, ultimately, a unified method for cross browser parallel computing should only be a matter of time right?

lmeyerov• 12 years ago

Close, but it looks like the pipeline for WebGL extensions will get feature-wise, in 5 years, where OpenCL was upon release ~6 years ago.. if even. Basing webgl standards on already obsoleted mobile opengl standards is bad for the web.

(Our startup is deep in this space, and after using both WebCL and WebGL, are going a third way.)

IvanK_net• 12 years ago

WebCL is already running on Tizen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TurCVdaUTMY So that is going to be my next cellphone ;)

pjmlp6• 12 years ago

If you can ever get one.

jnbiche• 12 years ago

Why was this posted now? It's been around since 2011, and since then hasn't seen any significant browser penetration as far as I know.

Have there been new developments?

randomfool• 12 years ago

Last I see on the Blink front is https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!topic/blink..., essentially: 'No'.

KingOfDos• 12 years ago

Clicked the link, then 'Specification 1.0'.

"WebCL Specification Version 1.0, 14 March 2014"

The old specification was a draft. This seems to be a final version.

Joyfield• 12 years ago

Imagine Facebook/Google renting out capacity on its users computers for companies and giving money to people for being able to do so.

Hydraulix989• 12 years ago

Embedding computationally hard problems into users' browsers and leeching users' computing hardware to solve these problems for you? I can't think of an actual application's use case for this that's not nefarious.

Reminds me of the MIT Jersey kids who were about to try doing in-browser Bitcoin mining using WebGL.

ryderm• 12 years ago

folding@home? hardly nefarious

kllrnohj• 12 years ago

Why would you want F@H in a browser instead of as an app?

Everlag• 12 years ago

Well, for one, you get a completely crossplatform method of executing and deploying what would typically be especially painful to distribute to a wide user base spread across various hardware families. Think of everything you can do with openCL then take the subset of that which is applicable to games, or spreadsheets, or novelty,- a non-trivial amount- and make that portable via browsers to create a much better experience for you and target users. Worst case is it provides an easier to use way to learn opencl for beginners in that area.

If I remember correctly, and I may be terribly incorrect, the MIT jersey kids were going to have you mine bitcoins instead of look at ads; I think it got shot down due to ability to abuse it rather than inherent badness.

WebCL – Heterogeneous parallel computing in HTML5 web browsers

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