[racket] H264 Codec in Racket

Why not use bytes?

Also, if the algorithms are parallel, you might consider using futures.

Robby

On Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 4:25 PM, Neil Toronto <neil.toronto at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 06/06/2012 03:21 PM, Anurag Mendhekar wrote:
>>
>>
>> I'm considering writing an H.264 encoder/decoder in Racket. Has anyone
>> tried such a thing before?
>>
>> Codecs require a lot of bit-whacking and the h264 standard is
>> particularly convoluted. Efficiencies are obtained in C in many
>> different and usually complex ways. Codec experts usually recommend
>> starting at C/++ and go to assembly to extract further performance.
>
>
> The best way to get good performance currently is to write in Typed Racket
> and let its optimizer convert checked code to unchecked code. For example,
> it'll replace `fxand' with `unsafe-fxand'. Use the Performance Report tool
> to find out exactly how the optimizer transforms your code and get
> suggestions for speed improvements.
>
> You won't be able to operate on bytes directly, so you'll have to use
> fixnums. You'll only be able to operate on 3 bytes at a time on 32-bit
> platforms, or 7 bytes at a time on 64-bit platforms. (Racket avoids
> allocating space for fixnums by encoding them in a pointer with a type tag,
> which uses up a few bits.) If the algorithm allows operating on more bytes
> at a time, try shoving them all into an integer, which can be any bit width,
> and use integer bitwise ops like `bitwise-and'.
>
> Neil ⊥
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