GPU acceleration in Java – leveraging CUDA, OpenCL, and native libraries

To harness the immense computational power of GPUs within Java applications, developers have several options at their disposal. This section explores how Java developers can leverage CUDA, OpenCL, and native libraries to accelerate computations and tap into the parallel processing capabilities of GPUs. We’ll delve into the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, guiding you toward the most suitable solution for your specific use case.

Fundamentals of GPU computing

GPUs have evolved from their original purpose of rendering graphics to becoming powerful tools for general-purpose computation. This shift, known as general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU), leverages the parallel processing capabilities of GPUs to perform computations more efficiently than traditional CPUs in certain tasks.

Unlike CPUs, which have a few cores optimized for sequential processing, GPUs have...