How I Installed CUDA on my PC

Platform: Windows 7 (32 bit)

CUDA Hardware: None yet, will use simulator till then.

1 Prologue

      Before you start, get a clear idea about CUDA and its features from here.

2 Installation

2.1 Software setups

Basic step is to download the latest SDK and to choose an appropriate Toolkit according to your hardware’s compute capability. Download links are given here.

If you don’t have the hardware yet, you will need to use the emulator to compile and run programs (covered here). The emulator was however deprecated in the 3.x updates. Hence you need to download CUDA Toolkit 2.3 from here.

2.2  Installation Steps

Thankfully for windows, no post-installation configuration is required. Just run the setups and install-away.

3      Choose your language: C\C++

3.1 C++

Visual Studio will be used for C++ development for convenience. Express versions can be downloaded and registered for no cost. Or check with your countries IEEE MSDNAA alliance website if you are a member.

(If other, better IDE’s now have compatibility with CUDA; please notify me in the comments)

Downloads:

 Visual Studio2008

CUDA VS WIZARD (Win 32) 2.00 (or latest version)

  

3.2 C

C is best used on Linux or a native Linux environment. For windows users, the limited capability offered by the command line is satisfactory in this context. No separate setup is needed as the environment variables are already in place and CUDA’s compiler; nvcc can be invoked from the command line directly.

3.3 Java

I am, as of now, not committed to the idea of using Java for CUDA programs. But for reference, please go to this site.

After these steps have been completed, you are now ready to compile and execute CUDA programs.

CUDA Emulator

The CUDA emulator is a software that duplicates (or emulates) the functions of a computer system with a CUDA-enabled card in a computer system with no such hardware, so that the emulated behavior closely resembles the behavior of the real system. This software package is mainly aimed to empower developers and students who do not have access to Nvidia GPU's.


Initially, the CUDA Toolkit came with an emulator "built into" the CUDA compilor; "nvcc". Later, from versions after 3.0, the emulator was dropped. The last version that supports the emulator is v2.3, and can be downloaded from the CUDA Toolkit archives here.


But thankfully, several third parties have contributed to produce several emulation options that will be listed in this space shortly.

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio

Robotics Developer Studio, or RDS, is an environment made by Microsoft to develop and test projects on robotics. This is a major step by Microsoft indeed, to promote hobbyists as well as professional developers. Using this Windows-based suite, not only can we write code for a robot, but simulate a virtual prototype in a real world scenario using the state-of-the-art simulation engine. Whats looks so unique about this software is the fact that the RDS has not been built with the expert in mind, rather a beginner. Technically speaking, the learning curve is smooth and provides ample opportunities for experimentation.

Programmers can choose between the the familiar Visual studio and Visual Programming Language or VPL. VPL can be called a beginner's programming platform with a simple drag 'n' drop interface through which we can generate C# code. So you can understand how easy it is to code for an application using RDS.

The most important feature in this studio is the simulation. Now all of us must have seen the port-based emulation feature of IDE's like KEIL, etc. RDS goes way beyond testing with its 3-D simulation software. Not that there is a parallel here, but it definitely shows how far Microsoft has taken the concept of simulation. RDS allows us to directly test the behavior of our robot in a physics-based virtual world. Not only our software, but also the feasibility of the concept can be checked by testing it against a variety of environments.

Microsoft has provided several tutorials for getting a good start on their product. Besides this, external help has also been provided by software developers all over the world and their programs are just a few clicks away.

A let-down for the average Indian student is, however the requirements. The RDS does require a decent configuration of a PC in order to work its magic. Well this is mainly due to the Graphics requirements and overall PC specs that people normally don't think about when buying PC's. This problem can be solved easily with some minor and cheap upgrades.
The software in itself is completely free, and easily available from the Microsoft website. However you may be required to download and install additional software or drivers if you do not already have them, which is highly unlikely if you are a developer.

Overall, this amazing software by Microsoft is bound to raise eyebrows and most importantly, raise standards. It will get a thumb's up from all types of users, whether commercial or not, simply because of its quality and easy-to-use features.