DPC++ is a direct programming language based on the familiar C++ programming model and is key to oneAPI. It offers an open, cross-industry alternative to single architecture, proprietary languages, explains Savage.

Teams at Intel undertook an exhaustive evaluation of existing alternatives, examining the cost, benefits, and performance of using Open CL, C++, Fortran, and Nvidia CUDA. “We wanted to build upon C++, and SYCL from The Khronos group had some really good constructs that we thought provided a very good starting point. We’ve extended and improved it to achieve the goals that we want to achieve. Most of the DPC++ extensions will eventually be synced upstream into SYCL.”