High level abstrations for parallel computing

如今，尽管我们周围有大量的并行计算机，如多CPU PC、共享内存多处理器和消息传递处理器网络，但大多数程序仍然是为单处理器计算机编写的。现有技术缺乏灵活、易于使用并且适用于大多数常见计算机体系结构的并行编程模型和系统。研究人员一直在尝试高级并行计算模型，这些模型依赖于新的或扩展的语言，基于GUI的环境，杂注，并行模式和骨架来解决这些问题。本文提出了一种基于通用模式的并行程序设计模型GPE，该模型支持共享内存和消息传递计算机上的并行程序设计;（B）基于通用模式表达式（GenericPatternExpressions，GPE），用于实例化通用的并行结构和行为;（c）在并行化工作量和性能之间提供所需的折衷;（d）可以用公共编程语言实现（例如，C++），而不需要任何新的语言或语言扩展;（e）支持用户编写的共享内存或基于消息传递的新模式。我们最近的并行编程系统PAS和EPAS的研究工作表明，它是可能的设计和实现一个可扩展的模式库为基础的并行编程模型和系统，而我们的工作主动表达式的实例化常见的并行行为，而不需要任何语言扩展，预处理，或GUI的可行性。尽管在一个单一的研究项目中满足上述目标（a）至（e）可能是一个具有挑战性的命题，但值得追求，我们相信，鉴于这一研究领域的某些最新进展，这些目标可能是可行的。

Nowadays, even though there is an abundance of parallel computers around us in the form of multi-CPU PCs, shared-memory multiprocessors, and message-passing processor-networks, a majority of the programs are still being written for single processor computers. The current state of the art lacks parallel programming models and systems that are flexible, easy-to-use, and applicable to most of the common computer architectures. Researchers have been experimenting with high level parallel computing models that rely on new or extended languages, GUI based environments, pragmas, parallel patterns and skeletons for addressing these issues. This research proposes  a generic pattern based parallel programming model, called GPE, that: (a) supports parallel programming on shared-memory as well as message-passing computers; (b) is based on simple expressions, called Generic Pattern Expressions (GPEs), for instantiating common parallel structures and behaviors; (c) provides the required trade-off between parallelization effort and performance; (d) can be implemented in a common programming language (e.g., C++) without requiring any new language or language extensions; (e) supports user-written shared-memory or message-passing based new patterns. Our recent research work on parallel programming systems PAS and EPAS demonstrates that it is possible to design and implement an extensible pattern-library based parallel programming model and system while our work on Active Expressions shows the feasibility of instantiating common parallel behaviors without requiring any language extensions, preprocessing, or GUIs. Even though satisfying above-stated objectives (a) to (e) in a single research project may be a challenging proposition, it is worth pursuing and we believe, given certain recent advances in this research area, these may be feasible.