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Mali™ GPU Developer ToolsTechnical Overview

Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved.ARM DUI 0501A (ID101409)

Mali GPU Developer ToolsTechnical Overview

Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved.

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This document is intended only to assist the reader in the use of the product. ARM shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of any information in this document, or any error or omission in such information, or any incorrect use of the product.

Where the term ARM is used it means “ARM or any of its subsidiaries as appropriate”.

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The information in this document is final, that is for a developed product.

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http://www.arm.com

Change history

Date Issue Confidentiality Change

14 October 2009 A Non-Confidential First release

ii Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ARM DUI 0501ANon-Confidential, Unrestricted Access ID101409

ContentsMali GPU Developer Tools Technical Overview

PrefaceAbout this book .............................................................................................. xFeedback ...................................................................................................... xii

Chapter 1 Introduction1.1 About the Mali GPU Developer Tools ........................................................ 1-21.2 Using Mali GPU Developer Tools in your workflow ..................................... 1-6

Glossary

ARM DUI 0501A Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. iiiID101409 Non-Confidential, Unrestricted Access

Contents

iv Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ARM DUI 0501ANon-Confidential, Unrestricted Access ID101409

List of TablesMali GPU Developer Tools Technical Overview

Change history .............................................................................................................. iiTable 1-1 Mali GPU Developer Tools ........................................................................................ 1-6Table 1-2 Getting started with the Mali GPU Developer Tools ................................................ 1-10

ARM DUI 0501A Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. vID101409 Non-Confidential, Unrestricted Access

List of Tables

vi Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ARM DUI 0501ANon-Confidential, Unrestricted Access ID101409

List of FiguresMali GPU Developer Tools Technical Overview

Figure 1-1 Demonstration OpenGL ES 2.0 application development workflow .......................... 1-7Figure 1-2 Using Mali GPU Developer Tools for analysis and optimization ............................... 1-9

ARM DUI 0501A Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. viiID101409 Non-Confidential, Unrestricted Access

List of Figures

viii Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ARM DUI 0501ANon-Confidential, Unrestricted Access ID101409

Preface

This preface introduces the Mali GPU Developer Tools Overview. It contains the following sections:• About this book on page x• Feedback on page xii.

ARM DUI 0501A Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ixID101409 Non-Confidential, Unrestricted Access

Preface

About this bookThis is the Mali GPU Developer Tools Overview. It provides guidelines for using the Mali GPU Developer Tools to assist in the development of applications for standalone 2D and 3D graphics applications.

Intended audience

This guide is written for system integrators and software developers who are writing OpenGL ES or OpenVG applications on a desktop workstation, using the Windows XP or Linux operating system, and want to write applications for systems including a Mali GPU.

Using this book

This book is organized into the following chapters:

Chapter 1 Introduction Read this for an introduction to the Mali GPU Developer Tools.

Glossary Read this for definitions of terms used in this book.

Typographical Conventions

The typographical conventions are:

italic Highlights important notes, introduces special terminology, denotes internal cross-references, and citations.

bold Highlights interface elements, such as menu names. Denotes signal names. Also used for terms in descriptive lists, where appropriate.

monospace Denotes text that you can enter at the keyboard, such as commands, file and program names, and source code.

monospace Denotes a permitted abbreviation for a command or option. You can enter the underlined text instead of the full command or option name.

monospace italic Denotes arguments to monospace text where the argument is to be replaced by a specific value.

monospace bold Denotes language keywords when used outside example code.

x Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ARM DUI 0501ANon-Confidential, Unrestricted Access ID101409

Preface

< and > Enclose replaceable terms for assembler syntax where they appear in code or code fragments. For example:MRC p15, 0 <Rd.>, <Can>, <Calm>, <Opcode_2>

Additional reading

This section lists publications by ARM and by third parties.

See Inefficient, http://infocenter.arm.com, for access to ARM documentation.

ARM publications

This guide contains information that is specific to the Mali GPU Developer Tools. See the following documents for other relevant information:• Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool User Guide (ARM DUI 0502)• Mali GPU Texture Compression Tool User Guide (ARM DUI 0503)• Mali GPU Shader Development Studio User Guide (ARM DUI 0504)• Mali GPU Demo Engine User Guide (ARM DUI 0505)• OpenGL ES 1.1 Emulator User Guide (ARM DUI 0506)• Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter User Guide (ARM DUI 0507)• Mali GPU Shader Library User Guide (ARM DUI 0510)• OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator User Guide (ARM DUI 0511)• Mali GPU Offline Shader Compiler User Guide (ARM DUI 0513).

Other publications

This section lists relevant documents published by third parties:

• OpenGL ES 1.1 Specification at http://www.khronos.org.

• OpenGL ES 2.0 Specification at http://www.khronos.org.

• OpenGL ES Shading Language Specification at http://www.khronos.org.

• OpenVG 1.1 Specification at http://www.khronos.org.

• OpenGL Programming Guide: The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL, Version 2 (5th Edition, 2005), Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN 0-321-33573-2.

• OpenGL Shading Language (2nd Edition, 2006), Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN 0-321-33489-2.

ARM DUI 0501A Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. xiID101409 Non-Confidential, Unrestricted Access

Preface

FeedbackARM welcomes feedback on this product and its documentation.

Feedback on this product

If you have any comments or suggestions about this product then contact [email protected] and give:

• The product name.

• The product revision or version.

• An explanation with as much information as you can provide. Include symptoms and diagnostic procedures if appropriate.

Feedback on content

If you have comments on content then send an e-mail to [email protected]. Give:• the title• the number, ARM DUI 0501A• the page numbers to which your comments apply• a concise explanation of your comments.

ARM also welcomes general suggestions for additions and improvements.

xii Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ARM DUI 0501ANon-Confidential, Unrestricted Access ID101409

Chapter 1 Introduction

This chapter provides information about the Mali GPU Developer Tools, and describes how to use them in your workflow.

It contains the following sections:• About the Mali GPU Developer Tools on page 1-2• Using Mali GPU Developer Tools in your workflow on page 1-6.

ARM DUI 0501A Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. 1-1ID101409 Non-Confidential, Unrestricted Access

Introduction

1.1 About the Mali GPU Developer Tools The Mali GPU Developer Tools help you to develop and analyze OpenGL ES graphics applications on your computer and on the Mali GPU target platform.

They provide a means for you to visualize and debug your graphics applications before the Mali GPU hardware is available.

The tools are compatible with Windows XP and Linux. The recommended versions are:• Windows XP Professional, version 2002, service pack 2• Red Hat Enterprise Linux, revision 2.6.9-55.ELsmp.

The Mali GPU Developer Tools contain the following applications:• The OpenGL ES Emulators• The Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool• The Mali GPU Texture Compression Tool on page 1-3• The Mali GPU Demo Engine on page 1-3• The Mali GPU Offline Shader Compiler on page 1-5• The Mali GPU Shader Development Studio on page 1-4• The Mali GPU Shader Library on page 1-4• The Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter on page 1-4.

1.1.1 The OpenGL ES Emulators

There is an OpenGL ES 1.1 Emulator and an OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator. Each emulator consists of a library that maps OpenGL ES API calls to OpenGL calls for that specific version. These emulators have to be supported by your desktop graphics card. There are emulators for Windows and Linux.

For information on using the OpenGL ES 1.1 Emulator, see OpenGL ES 1.1 Emulator User Guide.

For information on using the OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator, see OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator User Guide.

1.1.2 The Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool

The Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool is an application that enables you to view and analyze performance data that is generated by a Mali GPU with Instrumented drivers, when rendering an image, or the Instrumented version of the OpenGL ES Emulator.

1-2 Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ARM DUI 0501ANon-Confidential, Unrestricted Access ID101409

Introduction

You can study animated applications and observe how parameters for hardware and software performance change with time. For example, you can view the number of vertices processed for each frame in the sequence. The Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool is highly customizable. You can create graphs and tables that display the performance counters you want, together with the resulting framebuffer image.

See the Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool User Guide for more information.

1.1.3 The Mali GPU Texture Compression Tool

The Mali GPU Texture Compression Tool can be run on your computer to encode texture images into the Ericsson Texture Compression (ETC) format that take less memory than the original. This format can be decoded to pixel color values by the Mali GPU hardware. This enables you to reduce the amount of memory bandwidth required to read texture data, reduced bandwidth results in superior performance and reduced power consumption.

When textures are compressed, information might be lost from the original image but the associated benefits generally compensate for this. The compressed data is read from file or set up as a constant in the application, and then passed to the appropriate OpenGL ES function.

Compressed textures can be used in OpenGL ES 1.1 and OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics applications.

The Mali GPU Texture Compression tool can be used from a Graphical User Interface (GUI) or from a Command Line.

See the Mali GPU Texture Compression Tool User Guide for more information.

1.1.4 The Mali GPU Demo Engine

The Mali GPU Demo Engine is a library of C++ functions that can be helpful when building OpenGL ES applications for an ARM platform with Mali GPU acceleration. You can run the Mali GPU Demo Engine on a Microsoft Windows or Linux desktop, and also on an ARM platform with a Mali GPU. You can use the Mali GPU Demo Engine for creating new applications, training and exploration of implementation possibilities.

See the Mali GPU Demo Engine User Guide for more information.


Introduction

1.1.5 The Mali GPU Shader Development Studio

Vertex shaders and fragment shaders written in the OpenGL ES Shading Language (ESSL), can be converted into OpenGL ES binary vertex and fragments shaders by the Mali GPU Offline Shader Compiler. The Mali GPU Shader Development Studio is an Eclipse plug-in that extends the functionality of the Eclipse platform to enable editing of OpenGL ES binary and fragment shaders. You can use it to start developing shaders, or to work on existing shaders and shader effects.

Shaders can be previewed as they are being developed by rendering them on remote OpenGL ES hardware or on local or remote emulations. Various shader variables can be modified and the corresponding changes in the effects can be viewed using the Mali GPU Shader Development Studio.

See the Mali GPU Shader Development Studio User Guide for more information.

1.1.6 The Mali GPU Shader Library

The Mali GPU Shader Library is a collection of example shader programs. These examples contain the ESSL vertex and fragment shader source files for shader programs and other information to help you start developing shader programs for the Mali GPU. You can use the shader programs as they are provided, modify them to suit your requirements or use them to learn and develop your own.

The example shader programs can be visualized in Mali GPU Shader Development Studio using the shaderconfig file provided in the Mali GPU Shader Library. For more details see Mali GPU Shader Development Studio User Guide.

The shaders can also be utilized while developing new applications in the Mali GPU Demo Engine. For more details see the Mali GPU Demo Engine User Guide.

See Mali GPU Shader Library User Guide for more information.

1.1.7 The Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter

The Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter is a program that runs on your desktop computer and converts graphic assets from the COLLADA format to the Mali Binary Asset format. These graphic assets include such elements as:• geometry data• textures• lighting• movements for animation.

The assets can be exported in COLLADA format that can be generated by commercial 3D modelling tools such as Google SketchUpPro and Autodesk 3ds Max.


Introduction

The Mali GPU Demo Engine requires assets in Mali Binary Asset format so that any COLLADA generated assets have to be converted to this format before use by the Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter.

The Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter has a GUI that enables you to modify and verify the data before you generate the Mali Binary Assets output files.

See the Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter User Guide for more information.

1.1.8 The Mali GPU Offline Shader Compiler

The Mali GPU Offline Shader Compiler is provided with the Mali GPU Developer Tools. It translates vertex shaders and fragment shaders written in ESSL into binary vertex and fragment shaders.

In the context of Mali GPU Developer Tools, it is used by the OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator and Mali GPU Shader Development Studio to check the syntax of shaders before they are sent for rendering. This works by compiling each shader in the background and gathering data on any warnings or errors that are generated. If the Mali GPU Shader Developer Studio is not installed, the OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator is unable to perform syntax checking on the application shaders.

See the Mali GPU Offline Shader Compiler User Guide for more information.

See also OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator User Guide and Mali GPU Shader Development Studio User Guide.


Introduction

1.2 Using Mali GPU Developer Tools in your workflowThis section describes methods of using the Mali GPU Developer Tools in your workflow. It contains the following subsections:• About using Mali GPU Developer Tools• Example demonstration application development, using existing assets• Example graphics application software analysis and optimization on page 1-8• Task overview on page 1-10.

1.2.1 About using Mali GPU Developer Tools

There are many ways to use the Mali Developer Tools. This section contains practical examples of how you might use the tools, depending on your requirements. Table 1-1 shows how the packages are categorized.

1.2.2 Example demonstration application development, using existing assets

As an ARM partner, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), or using your own assets, you might use the Mali Developer Tools to develop demonstration applications. Figure 1-1 on page 1-7 shows a typical workflow.

Table 1-1 Mali GPU Developer Tools

Category Tool

Shader authoring Mali GPU Shader Development Studio

Mali GPU Offline Shader Compiler

Mali GPU Shader Library

Performance and optimization Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool

Mali GPU Texture Compression Tool

Software development Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter

Mali GPU Demo Engine

OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator

OpenGL ES 1.1 Emulator


Introduction

Figure 1-1 Demonstration OpenGL ES 2.0 application development workflow

For more information on supported hardware and software, see OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator User Guide.

Compile and link your application with the OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator libraries, then run the resulting executable on your desktop which must have a graphics card with the appropriate OpenGL support. The application calls OpenGL ES API functions as required, which are handled by the OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator.

You can use the Instrumented version of the OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator library to link and run your program to create a performance data file, and then use the Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool in offline mode to load the performance data file so you can analyze it. For more details, see Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool User Guide.

Existing graphics application assets

Mali GPU Binary Asset Exporter

Mali GPU Demo Engine

OpenGL ES 2.0 application

OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator / Instrumented

PC with OpenGL 2.0 compatible graphics card

Performance Analysis Tool

Dump file

COLLADA files

Mali Binary Assets files

Texture Compression tool

Uncompressed textures

ETC compressed textures

Mali OpenGL ES 2.0 drivers / Instrumented

ARM Platform set up with Mali GPU


Introduction

Note • The OpenGL ES 1.1 Emulator is not instrumented so cannot produce

performance data files.

• The Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool can only be used in offline mode with the OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator. Online mode is not supported with an OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator. To use the Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool in online mode, see Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool User Guide.

You can study the performance data using the Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool to identify execution bottlenecks and inspect the frame buffer images to find visual problems. Edit your application as required to achieve optimum results on the Mali GPU hardware.

1.2.3 Example graphics application software analysis and optimization

As a graphics application developer you can use the Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool to optimize the performance of your system. Figure 1-2 on page 1-9 illustrates a typical scheme for this kind of work.


Introduction

Figure 1-2 Using Mali GPU Developer Tools for analysis and optimization

Note The Mali Developer Tools provide additional functionality to analyze driver and system performance, see About the Mali GPU Developer Tools on page 1-2.

Visual Studio C++ compiler

or Linux C++ compiler

Applicationcode

Performance Analysis Tool

Mali Demo Engine

OpenGL ES 2.0Instrumented emulator

Mali demos, examples and the shader library.

Textures, Shader

programs

Application binary

Mali Demo Engine binary library

Applicationsource code Mali Binary Assets

files

Binary coderunning on a Windows or Linux desktop workstation with OpenGL graphics acceleration

Dump file,Frame buffer

Displayed information


Introduction

You can use the following analysis and optimization procedure:

1. On your desktop, build the demo application and link it with the instrumented version of the OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator.

2. Run the application on your desktop with the appropriate graphics card capabilities and settings, this produces a dump file that you can view in the Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool. For settings that are supported by this release, see OpenGL ES 1.1 Emulator User Guide and OpenGL ES 2.0 Emulator User Guide.

3. You can compare results with those obtained from previous runs to analyze and optimize bottlenecks in your applications.

1.2.4 Task overview

Use the directions given in Table 1-2 to help you get started using the Mali GPU Developer Tools.

Table 1-2 Getting started with the Mali GPU Developer Tools

Description Reference

To run the examples and OpenGL ES applications with the OpenGL ES Emulator

See OpenGL ES 1.1 Emulator User GuideSee OpenGL ES 2.0 Wmulator User Guide

To use the Mali GPU Demo Engine See the Mali GPU Demo Engine User GuideSee the Mali GPU Binary Assets Exporter User Guide

To analyze your applications using the Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool

See the Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool User Guide

To use texture compression on your images and textures to make your application run faster

See the Mali GPU Texture Compression Tool User Guide


Glossary

This glossary describes some of the terms used in ARM manuals. Where terms can have several meanings, the meaning presented here is intended.

API See Application Programming Interface.

Application Programming Interface (API)A specification for a set of procedures, functions, data structures, and constants that are used to interface two or more software components together. For example, an API between an operating system and the application programs that use it might specify exactly how to read data from a file.

COLLAborative Design Activity (COLLADA) filesOpen-standard XML files that describe digital assets. COLLADA files are compatible with many graphics applications.

COLLADA See COLLAborative Design Activity (COLLADA) files.

Debugger A debugging system that includes a program, used to detect, locate, and correct software faults, together with custom hardware that supports software debugging.

ESSL See OpenGL ES Shading Language.

Fragment shader A program running on the pixel processor that calculates the color and other characteristics of each fragment.

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Glossary

Framebuffer A memory buffer containing a complete frame of graphical data.

GPU See Graphics Processor Unit.

Graphics applicationA custom program that runs on the platform CPU and uses the Mali GPU to display graphics.

Graphics Processor Unit (GPU)A hardware accelerator for graphics systems using OpenGL ES and OpenVG. The hardware accelerator comprises of an optional geometry processor and a pixel processor together with memory management. Mali programmable GPUs, such as the Mali-200 and Mali-400 MP GPUs, consist of a geometry processor and at least one pixel processor. Mali fixed-function GPUs, such as the Mali-55 GPU consist of a pixel processor only.

Instrumented driversAlternative graphics drivers that are used with the Mali GPU. The Instrumented drivers include additional functionality such as error logging and recording performance data files for use by the Performance Analysis Tool.

See also Performance Analysis Tool.

Mali A name given to graphics software and hardware products from ARM that aid 2D and 3D acceleration.

Mali Binary Assets The Mali Binary Assets file format provides an optimized binary representation of a 3D scene for loading into the Mali Demo Engine Library.

Mali Demo Engine LibraryA C++ class framework for developing OpenGL ES 2.0 applications for the Mali GPU. The Mali Demo Engine Library is a component of the Mali GPU Developer Tools.

Mali GPU Binary Asset ExporterA converter tool for Windows that converts XML-based COLLADA documents to the Mali Binary Assets format for use with the Mali GPU Demo Engine. The Mali GPU Binary Assets Exporter is a component of the Mali GPU Developer Tools.

Mali GPU Demo Engine The Mali Demo Engine is a component of the Mali GPU Developer Tools.

Mali GPU Developer Tools A set of development programs that enables software developers to create graphic applications.

Glossary-2 Copyright © 2009 ARM. All rights reserved. ARM DUI 0501ANon-Confidential, Unrestricted Access ID101409

Glossary

Mali GPU Performance Analysis Tool A fully-customizable GUI tool that displays and analyzes performance data files produced by the Instrumented drivers, together with framebuffer information.

See also Instrumented drivers, Performance data file.

Mali GPU Shader LibraryA set of shader examples, tutorials, and other information, designed to assist with developing shader programs for the Mali GPU. The Shader Library is a component of the Mali GPU Developer Tools.

Offline Shader CompilerA a command line tool that translates vertex shaders and fragment shaders written in the ESSL into binary vertex shaders and binary fragment shaders that you can link and run on the Mali GPU.

OpenGL ES Shading Language (ESSL)A programming language used to create custom shader programs that can be used within a programmable pipeline, on graphics hardware. You can also use pre-defined library shaders, written in ESSL.

Performance data fileFiles that contain a description of the performance counters, together with the performance counter data in the form of a series of values and images. Performance data files are saved in .ds2 format and can be loaded directly into the Performance Analysis Tool.

Pixel A pixel is a discrete element that forms part of an image on a display. The word pixel is derived from the term Picture Element.

Shader A program, usually an application program, running on the GPU, that calculates some aspect of the graphical output. See fragment shader and vertex shader.

Vertex shader A program running on the geometry processor, that calculates the position and other characteristics, such as color and texture coordinates, for each vertex.

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Glossary

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Documents

Mali GPU Developer Tools Technical Overview - ARM …infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.dui0501a/DUI0501A_mali...• Windows XP Professional, version 2002, service pack 2 •