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Basic foilset Overview Foils for Parallel Applications and software Talk

Given by Geoffrey C. Fox at CRPC/MCNC Workshop on April 10-13 1995. Foils prepared April 7,1995
Outside Index Summary of Material

This is overview for talk by Fox at CRPC Annual Review 21 March 1995
It is upgraded for North Carloina Workshop 11 April 1995
The total talk has this overview and upgraded versions of old material on programming paradigms divided into two sets.
The material is linked to a set of electronic roadmap material developed at NPAC
The focus is relation of parallel Applications and Software

Table of Contents for full HTML of Overview Foils for Parallel Applications and software Talk

 Denote Foils where HTML is sufficient
1 Overview of HPCC Applications -- 21 March 1995 CRPC Annual Review
2 What is Status of HPCC Applications?
3 Two Major Parallel Programming Paradigms
4 HPCC Application HighLights are the Grand Challenges
5 Some Characteristics of Applications
6 Could Classify by Issues in Programming or by Nature of (Data) Parallel Compiler Support
7 General Structure of Talk
8 Strategy is a Set of Linked Glossaries
9 Referenced Supplementary Web Material
10 Some Useful URL's at NPAC
11 Structure of Data on the World Wide Web
12 Mail based Interface for Glossary Entries
13 The Handouts for Talk

Outside Index Summary of Material

HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 1 Overview of HPCC Applications -- 21 March 1995 CRPC Annual Review

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
Full HTML Index
Geoffrey C Fox
NPAC
Syracuse University
111 College Place
Syracuse NY 13244-4100
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 2 What is Status of HPCC Applications?

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
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Parallel Computing Works in Nearly all scientific and engineering applications

As described in Book Parallel Computing Works! (Fox,Messina,Williams)
The necessary algorithms are in general understood in most cases
The implementation of -- especially adaptive irregular -- algorithms is not easy because:
The software tools are immature and do not usually offer direct help for say:
  • Adaptive (un)structured meshs
  • Fast multipole method for particle dynamics
There are several different approachs and not clear what will "win" and what will actually "work" when
Need abstractions of the "hard" problem (component)s and toolkits to tackle them
  • Templates will describe promising approach
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 3 Two Major Parallel Programming Paradigms

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
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Data Parallel and Message Parallel

These are Message Parallel and Data Parallel Resources
  • Suggest Message Parallel Fortran as description of Fortran plus Message passing (Per Brinch Hansen) to be consistent with HPF or CMFortran as Data Parallel Fortran
There are trade-offs in Ease of Programming (not same for each user!), Portability, Maturity of Software, Generality of Problem class
Message Parallel is most mature, somewhat less portable in principle but not necessarily in practice, tackles all problems and some consider painful to program
  • Most succesful parallel applications have been Message Parallel
  • Fortran-M and MPI will describe this approach
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 4 HPCC Application HighLights are the Grand Challenges

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
Full HTML Index
There is no good overall Survey of which I am aware except Proceedings of May 1993 Pittsburgh Conference
  • In particular no list at the NCO (National Coordination Office)
These are very large applications with many different algorithms and software issues within each Grand Challenge
  • Most are Solutions of Partial Differential Equations or Particle Dynamics
As liitle or no coordination and communication (true!?) it is hard to draw lessons
Not much generally useful software so far
Glossary we prepared has 34 Entries (out of perhaps 50)
  • 19 have URL's for further Information
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 5 Some Characteristics of Applications

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
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All are more or less suitable for Parallel Computing and can be implemented in Message Parallel fashion
Some use similar stencils such as nearest neighbor communication
Some use similar base algorithms such as:
  • Chemistry and Computational Electromagnetics use full matrix algorithms are typically structured as two phases -- Calculate matrix elements and then solve matrix
  • Note two phases have different architecture and software issues
Sparse matrices are used in many different partial differential equation based applications but there differences in detail (geometry, number of components, nature of equations etc.)
  • e.g. Navier Stokes in typical high Reynolds number region has very different numerical issues from numerical relativity (one has turbulence, boundary layers and shocks, the other singular regions with difficult boundary conditions)
  • Templates, Libraries, Toolkits address such common needs
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 6 Could Classify by Issues in Programming or by Nature of (Data) Parallel Compiler Support

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
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Or by need for particular types of Load Balancing
Or by relevance of C++ Complex Data Structures and Object Oriented Capabilities
In case of Compiler, this becomes a discussion of High Performance Fortran Language, compiler optimization and runtime support needs
Or could classify by need for particular toolkit or template components
Or which are metaproblems or of particular problem architecture
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 7 General Structure of Talk

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
Full HTML Index
I have in past prepared talks on applications from several points of view
  • HPCC Applications in Industry (for New York State)
  • see Electronic Version of State survey
  • HPCC Applications undertaken by CRPC (Center for Research in Parallel Computation)

  • See Electronic Version of CRPC List
  • HPCC in Defense Applications -- the Dual-Use Issue

  • This is early summary of this talk at Institute of Defense Analysis
  • HPCC applications for the National Information Infrastructure

  • see National Challenge List and many of my talks such as that on Webservers
This talk will be built around theme of "What applications need what sort of parallel Software and Hardware support"
It will use a set of Persuasion Foils supplemented by supplementary material from the World Wide Web
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 8 Strategy is a Set of Linked Glossaries

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
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With various overview articles drawing on glossaries and "long information URL's" grouping glossary items in different ways
  • We have only done this for HPF so far
Base HPCC Glossaries:
  • Software Systems and Libraries -- The National Software Exchange
  • Applications, Algorithms and Methods
  • Computer Systems -- Hardware and Operating System Support
Each Glossary has two views which could be presented as two separate glossaries
  • Generic Terms e.g. Molecular Dynamics
  • Specific Instances e.g. CHARMM
Currently we only have 2 pairs rather than 3 pairs of Glossaries with systems software and libraries split between other 2 types of Glossary.
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 9 Referenced Supplementary Web Material

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
Full HTML Index
Parallel Computing Works -- A book published by Morgan Kaufman and describing over 40 parallel applications from perspective of this talk
A set of resources accessed from NPAC's application roadmap
A set of Glossaries on:
  • 1)Parallel Computers from current and past vendors
  • 2)Computer science and HPCC Base technology -- general issues for 1)
  • 3)Particular HPCC Applications
  • 4)Generic Issues in Applications -- general issues for 3)
  • Fortran Language
Note we do not yet have a good glossary discussing system software technologies. We do have an excellent Web resource on High Performance Fortran and a set of pages which grew out of foils used today describing which application features are critical for which HPF current and future capabilities
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 10 Some Useful URL's at NPAC

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
Full HTML Index
http://www.infomall.org/npac/pcw/ is HTML version of book Parallel Computing Works

Parallel Computing Works is Electronically
http://www.npac.syr.edu/roadmap/ is entry point for NPAC application roadmaps

Application Roadmap is Electronically
1) http://www.npac.syr.edu/nhse/hpccsurvey/ is glossary for particular HPCC systems

HPCC systems are Electronically
2) http://www.npac.syr.edu/nhse/hpccgloss/ is base HPCC terminology glossary

Base HPPC terms are Electronically
3)http://www.infomall.org/npac/roadmap/appl_instances.html is glossary of particular HPCC applications

Application Instance Glossary is Electronically
  • http://www.infomall.org/npac/roadmap/grand-challenges/index.html is survey of Grand Challenges

  • Grand Challenges are Electronically
4) http://www.infomall.org/npac/roadmap/appl_generics.html is glossary of general application issues and characteristics

Generic Application material is Electronically
http://www.npac.syr.edu/hpfa/fortgloss/ is Fortran Language glossary

Fortran Glossary is Electronically
http://www.npac.syr.edu/hpfa/index.html is Entry page for High Performance Fortran Evaluation

HPF Evaluation is Electronically
http://www.npac.syr.edu/hpfa/algorithms.html is a description of application classes from a HPF perspective

Confrontation of Applications and HPF is Electronically
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 11 Structure of Data on the World Wide Web

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
Full HTML Index
As most issues have been solved (more than once) and World Wide Web allows very convenient interchange of information, we should be able to use WWW to aid new developers of HPCC applications
Organization of Information on the Web is unclear at present and very easy to get lost
We are lost now in sea of information and are focussing on following hierarchical strategy
Organizational HTML Page is list of Glossary Entries
  • These could be low level or list of lists (each glossary entry is a description of a glossary)
Topic --> Glossary Entry --> Long Encyclopedia style "article"
See Glossary of Grand Challenge Applications where "long" description is pointer to home page of this grand challenge
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 12 Mail based Interface for Glossary Entries

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
Full HTML Index
Glossary synergistic with mail, relational databases and WWW (as MIME extended mail based system)
See Usenet, FAQ , Forums on Internet
To: Collector of Glossary Items
cc: |
Fcc: | Usual Stuff or Preset
Bcc: |
Subject:New Glossary Entry
X-Organization:NPAC Glossary Team
X-Date: <Date Entry Prepared>
X-Author: <Author of Glossary Item>
X-Glossary: <Name of Glossary>
X-EntryName: <Name of Entry in Glossary>
X-Seealso: <Other Glossary Entries this should hyperlink to>
X-SeeURL: <General URL's of related WWW documents>
X-LongEntry: <Encyclopedia Entry for this Glossary Item>
X-NonBlueKeys: <Conventional nonhyperlinked Keywords>
X-InterpretasHTML: <Default is ON -- if OFF Interpret body as free text not HTML>
Blank Line followed by Glossary Text
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 7,1995

Foil 13 The Handouts for Talk

From Applications and their Relation to Software CRPC/MCNC Workshop -- April 10-13 1995. *
Full HTML Index
Note all of these are available electronically including foils -- see earlier for URL's of all material except the foils which will be found in http://www.npac.syr.edu/users/gcf/mramarch95/
There are 3 foil sets
  • ProgparaA: First set on Applications and Programming Paradigms
  • ProgparaB: Second set on Applications and Programming Paradigms
  • CRPCappls: The introductory set of foils
Parallel Computing Works Overview
3 of the 4 Glossaries
  • Generic HPCC terms
  • Generic Applications and Software Technology
  • Particular Instances of HPCC Applications and Software Technology
Overview of Algorithms and Applications from HPF point of view
List of Grand Challenges
Northeast Parallel Architectures Center, Syracuse University, npac@npac.syr.edu

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