Memory hierarchy

Q: How deeply does Fast Python: High performance techniques for large datasets cover memory hierarchy?

Connects cache-aware array processing to storage and network levels, while keeping the architecture treatment selective.

As explained in Fast Python: High performance techniques for large datasets

A memory hierarchy is an arrangement of storage levels with differing capacities, access speeds, latencies, costs, or persistence.

Memory hierarchy spans CPU caches, RAM, hard disks, local networks, and wide area networks. Understanding these levels helps explain why data representation and processing choices can change performance. section 6.0

Cache-aware processing can make compressed data useful beyond saving storage space: some compressed array representations can be accessed about as quickly as uncompressed ones. Hardware affects the results, so performance comparisons may differ across machines. section 6.0 section 6.2.4

Bit-shuffling array data

For sequential values such as 3, 4, 5, and 6, rearranging bits can expose regular patterns to a compressor. In one comparison, the shuffled representation used 4,600,034 bytes versus 5,345,500 bytes, while taking 596 ms instead of 524 ms. section 6.2.4

How Fast Python: High performance techniques for large datasets covers it

Cover of Fast Python: High performance techniques for large datasets

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Related concepts

shared memoryhas part · Shared memory is a memory region or storage area accessible to multiple processes, threads, or other execution components for accessing or exchanging data.
hardware registerhas part · A hardware register is a small, rapidly accessible storage location within a processor or processing device that holds data, addresses, or control information during execution.
gpu video memoryhas part · GPU memory is memory accessible to a graphics processing unit for storing data and computation state used in graphics or other workloads.
L1 cachehas part · An L1 cache is a small, low-latency first-level cache located closest to a processor core or execution unit.
CPU cachehas part · A CPU cache is small, fast memory that stores copies of data or instructions for quicker access by a processor.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Fast Python: High performance techniques for large datasets. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.