Parallel computing in the 1990s - Attacking the software problem

It is today's general wisdom that the productive use of parallel architectures depends crucially on the availability of powerful development tools and run-time environments. In this paper, we systematically discuss the fundamental software problems encountered in programming parallel architectures, in particular those with distributed resources. All these problems need to be solved, if efficient and convenient use of parallel machines is to be guaranteed. We present a five phases model of parallel application program development, which describes the required efforts in parallel programming by means of four transformation steps: problem analysis, algorithm design, implementation, and mapping. The major part of the paper is dedicated to the description of three research projects which focus on the last three transformation steps: SKELETON, a tool for providing improved algorithmic support for the application-oriented programmer, SPADE, an integrated development and run-time environment. and MARC, a tool for automatic mapping of parallel programs.