CAREER: Programming Models for Green Software

能源效率是现代计算的一个关键目标：电力消耗占数据中心和云计算提供商运营成本的很大一部分；无线传感器网络只有在单个节点部署后不会迅速耗尽其能量时才有效；延长电池寿命是数百万笔记本电脑和智能手机用户的首要愿望。先前对节能计算的研究主要集中在VLSI、体系结构、操作系统和编译器优化方面的创新。本项目探索编程模型中的创新如何有助于节能计算。对编程模型的关注在促进特定应用的节能、确保异构计算平台的高可移植性以及促进可维护的绿色软件的开发方面具有独特的好处。该项目围绕着一种新颖的编程系统的设计，在这种系统中，能量感知编程的特征——比如功率模式——可以被声明或推断为类型，类型系统可以对其进行严格和组合的推理。类型可以进一步指导动态电压和频率缩放等标准节能技术，并可用于认证互联网时代的程序能量特性。该项目的成果包括设计一种节能语言和一种具有节能和认证新功能的编译器。该项目还将节能意识引入计算机编程课程，培养下一代具有环保意识的程序员，为更可持续的社会做出贡献。

Energy efficiency is a critical goal for modern computing: power consumption represents a significant portion of operational cost for data centers and cloud computing providers; wireless sensor networks are only effective when individual nodes do not deplete their power quickly after deployment; increasing battery life is high on the wish list of millions of laptop and smartphone users. Prior research on energy-efficient computing is largely focused on innovations in VLSI, architectures, operating systems, and compiler optimizations.This project explores how innovations in programming models can contribute to energy-efficient computing. A focus on programming models has the distinctive benefits of promoting application-specific energy reduction, ensuring high portability in heterogeneous computing platforms, and facilitating the development of maintainable green software. The project centers around the design of a novel programming system where characteristics in energy-aware programming--such as power modes--can be declared or inferred as types, over which a type system can reason rigorously and compositionally. Types can further guide standard energy reduction techniques such as dynamic voltage and frequency scaling, and be exploited for certifying program energy characteristics in the Internet era. The outcome of the project includes the design of an energy-aware language and a compiler with novel features for energy reduction and certification. The project also brings the awareness of energy efficiency into computer programming classes and fosters next-generation green-conscious programmers--the contributors of a more sustainable society.