In PaddlePaddle's [Design](https://github.com/PaddlePaddle/Paddle/blob/develop/doc/design/switch_kernel.md), one Operator may have multiple kernels. Users may have some personal preference to choose a certain type of kernel for an operator, such as `force_cpu` to choose a CPU kernel, `use_cudnn` to choose a CUDNN kernel, we need to provide a way for users to do this.
In the current design, we use KernelType to describe one kernel.
Every operator has many kernels because there are multiple data types, places, data layout, library type that Fluid supports. We use the `OpKernelType ` to describe kernel types that operators can hold.
PaddlePaddle provides various methods of installation for many different users
You can choose either pip or Docker to complete your install:
Focus on Deep Learning Model Development
-----------------
PaddlePaddle provides lots of packages of python wheel , that pip can install:
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
:maxdepth: 1
pip_install_en.rst
docker_install_en.rst
pip_install_en.rst
Build from Source
-----------------
This is the most convenient way of installation. Please choose the right installation package with machine configure and system.
Follow the Bottom Frame
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PaddlePaddle also supports installation using Docker. Please refer to the tutorial below:
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
docker_install_en.rst
.. warning::
We recommend running PaddlePaddle in Docker. This method has the following advantages:
We recommend to directly install via above installation steps, you'll only need to build PaddlePaddle from source when you need a modifed binary.
- Does not require installation of third-party dependencies.
- Easy to share runtime environment.
.. toctree::
Lastly, users can also compile and install PaddlePaddle from source code. The instructions are below:
.. toctree::
:maxdepth: 1
build_from_source_en.md
build_from_source_en.rst
.. warning::
One caveat with this approach is that developers will have to download, compile and install all third-party dependencies. Thus this process of installation is more time consuming.
FAQ
++++++++++
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For any problems during installation, please refer to the page below for answers:
:ref:`常见问题解答 <install_faq>`
If the problem still persists, you are welcome to seek assistance from the PaddlePaddle community: