Basic HTML version of Foils prepared 23 August 1998

Foil 51 Data-Parallel Languages

From CPS615-Introduction-Course,Driving Technology and HPCC Current Status and Futures CPS615 Basic Simulation Track for Computational Science -- Fall Semester 98. by Geoffrey C. Fox, (Some Culler, Koelbel material)


1 Data-parallel languages provide an abstract, machine-independent model of parallelism.
  • Fine-grain parallel operations, such as element-wise operations on arrays
  • Shared data in large, global arrays with mapping "hints"
  • Implicit synchronization between operations
  • Partially explicit communication from operation definitions
2 Advantages:
  • Global operations conceptually simple
  • Easy to program (particularly for certain scientific applications)
3 Disadvantages:
  • Unproven compilers
  • As express "problem" can be inflexible if new algorithm which language didn't express well
4 Examples: HPF, C*, HPC++
5 Originated on SIMD machines where parallel operations are in lock-step but generalized (not so successfully as compilers too hard) to MIMD

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