Programming environments for systolic arrays. Technical report
Although a systolic array is often thought of as a hard-wired device, there are many reasons to want to program systolic algorithms. In this paper the problem of providing an efficacious programming environment is addressed. The difficulties of programming complex parallel algorithms are shown to be reduced by using a new concept of a parallel program which maximizes the use of graphical abstractions and minimizes the need for symbolic text. This concept is illustrated by the Poker Parallel Programming Environment which, although designed for a broader class of algorithms, illustrates the main features that a programming environment specialized to systolic computation should have. In the event that the programming environment is for systolic arrays, the programs are parallel and thus impose additional demands on the system such as data formatting, management of multiple process sets, and the specification of data routings. Providing all of these facilities in a single integrated system requires a new concept of parallel program, which, although it is quite different from FORTRAN and PASCAL, is nevertheless easier to use for a systolic array than a conventional programming language. The key to achieving this simplicity is to use graphics so extensively that the resulting programs appear to be dynamic versions of the diagrams presented in textbooks.
- Research Organization:
- Washington Univ., Seattle (USA). Dept. of Computer Science
- OSTI ID:
- 7231072
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-190630/4/XAB; TR-86-02-02
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ALGORITHMS
PROGRAMMING
ARRAY PROCESSORS
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
PARALLEL PROCESSING
FORTRAN
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
PROGRESS REPORT
SPECIFICATIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
990210* - Supercomputers- (1987-1989)