ML Framework Trends, Compilation Pipeline to GPU, and Hardware-Aware Deployment
Context
You are asked to explain how modern machine learning frameworks evolve and compile models to run efficiently on GPUs. Address differences across frameworks, the model-to-GPU execution pipeline (from frontend to intermediate representations to compilation), common compiler optimizations (e.g., kernel fusion, quantization), and how data-center vs. edge hardware influences these choices.
Tasks
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Framework trends: How has the ecosystem evolved from NumPy to PyTorch to JAX? What high-level trends are happening at the framework level?
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PyTorch vs. JAX: List three key differences.
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Model-to-GPU stages: Describe the stages a model goes through from definition to GPU execution, including the typical frontend, intermediate representation (IR, e.g., ONNX computation graph), and compilation steps.
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GPU optimization techniques: What optimizations are applied during model compilation (e.g., kernel fusion, quantization, memory planning, layout, autotuning)?
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Hardware targets: Contrast data-center hardware vs. edge hardware and explain how that affects compilation and deployment choices.