Explanation of CUDA C and C++

Question

Can anyone give me a good explanation as to the nature of CUDA C and C++? As I understand it, CUDA is supposed to be C with NVIDIA\'s GPU libraries. As of right now CUDA C suppo

Answer 1

Not realized by many, CUDA is actually two new programming languages, both derived from C++. One is for writing code that runs on GPUs and is a subset of C++. Its function is similar to HLSL (DirectX) or Cg (OpenGL) but with more features and compatibility with C++. Various GPGPU/SIMT/performance-related concerns apply to it that I need not mention. The other is the so-called "Runtime API," which is hardly an "API" in the traditional sense. The Runtime API is used to write code that runs on the host CPU. It is a superset of C++ and makes it much easier to link to and launch GPU code. It requires the NVCC pre-compiler which then calls the platform's C++ compiler. By contrast, the Driver API (and OpenCL) is a pure, standard C library, and is much more verbose to use (while offering few additional features).

Creating a new host-side programming language was a bold move on NVIDIA's part. It makes getting started with CUDA easier and writing code more elegant. However, truly brilliant was not marketing it as a new language.