【GPGPU编程】核心概念blockIdx和blockDim区别和联系

在GPGPU的架构中，有两个核心概念：blockIdx和blockDim。
这两个有什么区别和联系呢？

CUDA定义的线程结构分为三级：

• 线程网格
• 线程块
• 线程

线程网格是最大的线程范围，它包含了主机代码在启动内核函数时所涉及到的所有线程。
而线程网格是由线程块组成，其数量有gridDim来指定。线程块是线程的集合，其数量由blockDim来指定。

In GPGPU (General-Purpose computing on Graphics Processing Units), which typically refers to using GPUs for general-purpose computing tasks beyond just graphics processing, the terms “blockUdx” and “blockDim” are related to the thread hierarchy organization in a GPU execution model. These terms are commonly used in CUDA, a parallel computing platform developed by NVIDIA.


blockIdx: blockIdx is a built-in variable in CUDA that represents the index of the current block within the grid. The blockIdx variable is a 3-dimensional variable (blockIdx.x, blockIdx.y, and blockIdx.z) that allows you to identify the current block’s position in the grid. blockIdx is used to calculate the unique global index of a thread within the entire grid, which is essential for addressing specific elements in the input or output data.


blockDim: blockDim is another built-in variable in CUDA that represents the dimensions of the current block in terms of the number of threads. Like blockIdx, blockDim is also a 3-dimensional variable (blockDim.x, blockDim.y, and blockDim.z) that specifies the number of threads in each dimension within a block. blockDim is used along with blockIdx and threadIdx (the index of the thread within the block) to calculate the global index of a thread in the grid.


In summary, blockIdx refers to the index of a block within the grid, while blockDim represents the dimensions (i.e., the number of threads) of a block. Both variables are crucial for organizing and managing the parallel execution of threads on a GPU.

我们在编程时会通过blockIdx和blockDim和数据的索引index来建立映射。
$$index=threadIdx.x+blockIdx.x\ast blockDim.x$$