RE: Popcount optimization using AVX512

Álvaro,

All feedback is now completed. I added the additional checks for the new APIs and a separate check for the header to autoconf.

About the double check for AVX 512 I added a large comment explaining why both are needed. There are cases where the CPU ZMM# registers are not exposed by the OS or hypervisor even if the CPU supports AVX512.

The big change is adding all old and new build support to meson. I am new to meson/ninja so please review carefully.

Thanks,
Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: Alvaro Herrera <alvherre(at)alvh(dot)no-ip(dot)org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 2:13 AM
To: Amonson, Paul D <paul(dot)d(dot)amonson(at)intel(dot)com>
Cc: Shankaran, Akash <akash(dot)shankaran(at)intel(dot)com>; Nathan Bossart <nathandbossart(at)gmail(dot)com>; Noah Misch <noah(at)leadboat(dot)com>; Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us>; Matthias van de Meent <boekewurm+postgres(at)gmail(dot)com>; pgsql-hackers(at)lists(dot)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Re: Popcount optimization using AVX512

Hello,

This looks quite reasonable. On my machine, I get the compiler test to pass so I get a "yes" in configure; but of course my CPU doesn't support the instructions so I get the slow variant. So here's the patch again with some minor artifacts fixed.

I have the following review notes:

1. we use __get_cpuid_count and __cpuidex by relying on macros HAVE__GET_CPUID and HAVE__CPUID respectively; but those macros are (in the current Postgres source) only used and tested for __get_cpuid and __cpuid respectively. So unless there's some reason to be certain that __get_cpuid_count is always present when __get_cpuid is present, and that __cpuidex is present when __cpuid is present, I think we need to add new configure tests and new HAVE_ macros for these.

2. we rely on <immintrin.h> being present with no AC_CHECK_HEADER() test. We currently don't use this header anywhere, so I suppose we need a test for this one as well. (Also, I suppose if we don't have immintrin.h we can skip the rest of it?)

3. We do the __get_cpuid_count/__cpuidex test and we also do a xgetbv test. The comment there claims that this is to check the results for consistency. But ... how would we know that the results are ever inconsistent? As far as I understand, if they were, we would silently become slower. Is this really what we want? I'm confused about this coding. Maybe we do need both tests to succeed? In that case, just reword the comment.

I think if both tests are each considered reliable on its own, then we could either choose one of them and stick with it, ignoring the other; or we could use one as primary and then in a USE_ASSERT_CHECKING block verify that the other matches and throw a WARNING if not (but what would that tell us?). Or something like that ... not sure.

4. It needs meson support, which I suppose consists of copying the
c-compiler.m4 test into meson.build, mimicking what the tests for CRC instructions do.

I started a CI run with this patch applied,
https://cirrus-ci.com/build/4912499619790848
but because Meson support is missing, the compile failed
immediately:

[10:08:48.825] ccache cc -Isrc/port/libpgport_srv.a.p -Isrc/include -I../src/include -Isrc/include/utils -fdiagnostics-color=always -pipe -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -Wall -Winvalid-pch -g -fno-strict-aliasing -fwrapv -fexcess-precision=standard -D_GNU_SOURCE -Wmissing-prototypes -Wpointer-arith -Werror=vla -Wendif-labels -Wmissing-format-attribute -Wimplicit-fallthrough=3 -Wcast-function-type -Wshadow=compatible-local -Wformat-security -Wdeclaration-after-statement -Wno-format-truncation -Wno-stringop-truncation -fPIC -pthread -DBUILDING_DLL -MD -MQ src/port/libpgport_srv.a.p/pg_bitutils.c.o -MF src/port/libpgport_srv.a.p/pg_bitutils.c.o.d -o src/port/libpgport_srv.a.p/pg_bitutils.c.o -c ../src/port/pg_bitutils.c [10:08:48.825] ../src/port/pg_bitutils.c: In function ‘pg_popcount512_fast’:
[10:08:48.825] ../src/port/pg_bitutils.c:270:11: warning: AVX512F vector return without AVX512F enabled changes the ABI [-Wpsabi]
[10:08:48.825] 270 | __m512i accumulator = _mm512_setzero_si512();
[10:08:48.825] | ^~~~~~~~~~~
[10:08:48.825] In file included from /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/10/include/immintrin.h:55,
[10:08:48.825] from ../src/port/pg_bitutils.c:22:
[10:08:48.825] /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/10/include/avx512fintrin.h:339:1: error: inlining failed in call to ‘always_inline’ ‘_mm512_setzero_si512’: target specific option mismatch
[10:08:48.825] 339 | _mm512_setzero_si512 (void)
[10:08:48.825] | ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[10:08:48.825] ../src/port/pg_bitutils.c:270:25: note: called from here
[10:08:48.825] 270 | __m512i accumulator = _mm512_setzero_si512();
[10:08:48.825] | ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks

--
Álvaro Herrera Breisgau, Deutschland — https://www.EnterpriseDB.com/
"Siempre hay que alimentar a los dioses, aunque la tierra esté seca" (Orual)