The instructions below explain how to download, build and run the original contest application. Any changes made to the original contest application must produce the same output as the original contest application from the original input files used by the contest.

1. Contest Application: The Bodytrack Application

Download and Build:

Introduction

Contest Application: This contest utilizes the bodytrack benchmark which is part of the Princeton Application Repository for Shared-Memory Computers (PARSEC) benchmark suite.  More information about PARSEC can be found at: http://parsec.cs.princeton.edu/index.htm.

Prerequisite

In order to participate in this contest, you will need to extract files from a gzip'ed tar archive ( .tar.gz ).  Please insure that you have an application, such as Winzip, that can extract files from a .tar.gz archive file.

Obtain the Contest Application and Contest Input Files

Step 1. Download the application from the PARSEC benchmark suite:  this archived benchmark suite contains the source and project files for the contest application.  This suite also contains input data files, but these are not recommended.  Use the input files below.

Note: Please note that you should use the latest upgraded version of the Microsoft IE or any other browser such as Firefox to ensure smooth and correct download.

Step 2. Download the input files to be used by the contest application.  The native PARSEC benchmark input files contain the input data used for running the application.  Contest entries will be judged according to this input set.  BE SURE TO USE THESE INPUT FILES AND NOT THE INPUT FILES PACKAGED WITH THE PARSEC Benchmark Suite.
Step 3. (Optional) Download a set of test input files useful for quick testing, other PARSEC benchmark input files.  This set of other input file data sets can be used for analysis.  These tests do not take as long to run. These input file data sets are useful for quick tests, but will not be used for judging purposes.

Build the contest application "bodytrack" on Windows*

1. Extract the PARSEC source obtained in Step 1 above to a working directory in which you have read and write access.  We will refer to this working directory as <parsec-dir>
2. After extracting the files to <parsec-dir> using Winzip or any other archive extraction tool, use Windows Explorer to nativate  to directory <parsec-dir>\parsec-2.0\pkgs\apps\bodytrack\src\
3. A Microsoft Visual Studio* project file "TrackingBenchmark.sln" will be in the above directory. Start your Parallel Studio environment.  Open the TrackingBenchmark.sln solution file located in <parsec-dir>\parsec-2.0\pkgs\apps\bodytrack\src\ using menu options ‘File'->'Open'->'Project/Solution'
4.    Once the ‘TrackingBenchmark' solution is open, you will notice several project folders within this solution.  Three of the project folders in this solution MUST BE REMOVED from the solution. The  following 3 folders:
   "Intel TBB threading", "OMPThreading" and "PThreadsThreading"
    will cause compilation (build) errors when you build the bodytrack application if these folders are left in the solution.  Please remove the folders "Intel TBB threading", "OMPThreading" and "PThreadsThreading".  To do this, highlight the folder and either hit the ‘Delete' key on your keyboard OR right-click and select ‘Remove' from the pop-up menu. At a later time you may wish to review these 3 project folders as reference and suggestions for the contest.  Whatever you do, make sure that these 3 project folders are no longer part of the TrackingBenchmark solution.
5. Select Win32 Release configuration
6. Set the project to use Intel® C++ Compiler by right-clicking on the project name and selecting "Intel Parallel Composer -> Use Intel C++"
7. Build the solution.  You should build without errors.

Run the contest application:

Steps to run bodytrack

Extract using Winzip or another archive tool the PARSEC input files obtained in Step 2 from the section "Obtain the Contest Application and Contest Input Files" above to a folder or directory which we will refer to as <input-dir>.  Remember, the contest input files are different from the input files packaged with the PARSEC source file archive.

1. Open an IA-32 command prompt window from the Intel Parallel Studio menu under Start->Programs and change directories to where the executable built from project "TrackingBenchmark".  The executable name depends on your project settings.  For reference later, we'll call it Trackingbenchmark.exe.  By default, this would be in the Release\ subdirectory in your project TrackingBenchmark directory.   An example command to change directory is:

cd "<parsec-dir>\parsec-2.0\pkgs\apps\bodytrack\src\TrackingBenchmark\Release"

1. Run the executable with the command arguments:
   • TrackingBechmark.exe <input-dir>pkgs\apps\bodytrack\inputs\input_native\sequenceB_261  4 261 4000 5
   • This corresponds to TrackingBenchmark.exe  <Dataset Path> <# of cameras> <# of frames to process>  <# of particles> <# of annealing layers>

Help with building and running the benchmark

If you have difficulty with the instructions above, please post a question to the Intel Parallel Studio Forum in response to the original thread entitled:  "Details on the Intel® Parallel Studio Parallelism Contest & Lab at the Intel® Developer Forum San Francisco 2009"