CAREER: Programming Models for Green Software

能效是现代计算的一个关键目标：能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在部署后不会迅速耗尽电力的情况下才有效；增加电池寿命是数百万笔记本电脑和智能手机用户的愿望清单上的优先事项。以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。这个项目探索编程模型的创新如何有助于节能计算。专注于编程模型具有独特的好处，可以促进特定于应用程序的能源削减，确保在不同计算平台中的高度可移植性，并促进可维护的绿色软件的开发。该项目的中心是设计一种新颖的编程系统，其中节能编程中的特征--如电源模式--可以被声明或推断为类型，类型系统可以在这些类型上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调整等标准节能技术，并可用于认证互联网时代的程序能源特性。该项目的成果包括设计了一种了解能源的语言和一种具有新的能源削减和认证功能的编译器。该项目还将能效意识带入计算机编程课程，并培养下一代具有绿色意识的程序员--更可持续社会的贡献者。

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.