A note about ATLAS kernels

All of ATLAS's user-suppliable kernels are used to speed up a wide range of codes (i.e., GEMM speeds up all level 3 BLAS, etc), which means it is possible to write a good GEMM, for instance, that is still not a good GEMM kernel. The unmodified testers and timers described in this note time these kernels in their most-used states, so if you develop a kernel using these techniques, everything will likely be OK. However, if you first write a full-blown GEMV, for instance, and then attempt to adapt it, there is more opportunity for mismatch. At the end of each kernel section I give a few kernel notes to give you an idea of how ATLAS uses the kernel.