Intel nets parellel programmer top picks

Small poll, big systems

What's occupying the minds of developers in systems engineering? Scalable server technology and web development frameworks, according an Intel straw poll.

Developers expect progress in both these areas according to Intel's pulse taking of 49 individuals on the company's Thread Building Blocks (TBB) site. Around 30 per cent of respondents saw either one of these areas as hot spots this year - with a further 21 per cent going for desktop or client applications technology.

Although the sample is small it does offer some insight into what is occupying the minds of those involved in parallel programming. The appeal of scalable server technology is understandable given the TBB site's prime audience. The almost equal billing given to web development frameworks might just give an indication of where all the extra power promised by multi-core processors will be deployed.

Intel switched TBB - a C++ library - to open source in July 2007 to promote it as an aid to programming multi-core processors. Interested developers can download the TBB package here.®