CSR: Small: Using Thread-Local Memory Mapping to Support Memory Abstractions for Dynamic Multithreading

动态多线程已经成为简化共享内存多核处理器上并行应用程序编程的主要范例。合并了动态多线程的并发平台提供了内存抽象，例如cactus堆栈和超对象，这使得许多并行编程工作更像普通的串行编程。不幸的是，这些内存抽象的开销限制了它们可以有效使用的上下文。这个项目正在探索如何使用线程本地内存映射（TLMM）为内存抽象提供低开销的支持。TLMM是一种新颖的操作系统特性，它允许不同的pthread独立地映射一个共享虚拟地址空间的区域。研究人员正在构建一个健壮的TLMM-Linux和一个全功能的并发平台原型，称为Cilk-M，其中包括一个可移植编译器，一个运行时调度程序的有效实现，以及cactus堆栈和超对象的实现。他们还参与编程和测量应用程序基准，例如布尔可满足性，以了解如何优化内存抽象，以及可以发明哪些新的内存抽象来简化动态多线程编程。最后，他们正在研究Cilk-M技术，以了解其理论特性，并研究操作系统和硬件如何更好地促进内存抽象的实现。

Dynamic multithreading has emerged as a dominant paradigm for simplifying the programming of parallel applications on shared-memory multicore processors. Concurrency platforms incorporating dynamic multithreading provide memory abstractions, such as cactus stacks and hyperobjects, which make many parallel programming chores more like ordinary serial programming. Unfortunately, the overhead of these memory abstractions limits the contexts in which they can be effectively used. This project is exploring how thread-local memory mapping (TLMM) can be used to provide low-overhead support for memory abstractions. TLMM is a novel operating-system feature that allows different pthreads to map a region of an otherwise shared virtual-address space independently. The researchers are building a robust TLMM-Linux and a fully functional prototype of a concurrency platform, called Cilk-M, which includes a portable compiler, an efficient implementation of a runtime scheduler, and implementations of cactus stacks and hyperobjects. They are also engaged in programming and measuring application benchmarks, such as Boolean satisfiability, to understand how the memory abstractions might be optimized and what new memory abstractions might be invented to simplify dynamic multithreaded programming. Finally, they are studying the Cilk-M technology to understand its theoretical properties and investigating how operating systems and hardware might better facilitate the implementation of memory abstractions.