13 research outputs found
A formal semantics for control and data flow in the gannet service-based system-on-chip architecture
There is a growing demand for solutions which allow the design of large and complex reconfigurable Systems-on-
Chip (SoC) at high abstraction levels. The Gannet project proposes a functional programming approach for high-abstraction design of very large SoCs. Gannet is a distributed service-based SoC architecture, i.e. a network of services offered by hardware or software cores. The Gannet SoC is task-level reconfigurable: it performs tasks by executing functional task description programs using a demand-driven dataflow mechanism. The Gannet architecture
combines the flexible connectivity offered by a Networkon-
Chip with the functional language paradigm to create a
fully concurrent distributed SoC with the option to completely separate data flows from control flows. This feature is essential to avoid a bottleneck at he controller for run-time control of multiple high-throughput data flows.
In this paper we present the Gannet architecture and language
and introduce an operational semantics to formally describe the mechanism to separate control and data flows
GPRM: a high performance programming framework for manycore processors
Processors with large numbers of cores are becoming commonplace. In order to utilise the
available resources in such systems, the programming paradigm has to move towards increased parallelism. However, increased parallelism does not necessarily lead to better performance. Parallel programming models have to provide not only flexible ways of defining
parallel tasks, but also efficient methods to manage the created tasks. Moreover, in a general-purpose system, applications residing in the system compete for the shared resources. Thread
and task scheduling in such a multiprogrammed multithreaded environment is a significant challenge.
In this thesis, we introduce a new task-based parallel reduction model, called the Glasgow Parallel Reduction Machine (GPRM). Our main objective is to provide high performance while maintaining ease of programming. GPRM supports native parallelism; it provides a modular way of expressing parallel tasks and the communication patterns between them. Compiling a GPRM program results in an Intermediate Representation (IR) containing useful information about tasks, their dependencies, as well as the initial mapping information. This compile-time information helps reduce the overhead of runtime task scheduling and is key to high performance. Generally speaking, the granularity and the number of tasks are major factors in achieving high performance. These factors are even more important in the case of GPRM, as it is highly dependent on tasks, rather than threads.
We use three basic benchmarks to provide a detailed comparison of GPRM with Intel OpenMP, Cilk Plus, and Threading Building Blocks (TBB) on the Intel Xeon Phi, and with GNU OpenMP on the Tilera TILEPro64. GPRM shows superior performance in almost all cases, only by controlling the number of tasks. GPRM also provides a low-overhead mechanism, called âGlobal Sharingâ, which improves performance in multiprogramming situations.
We use OpenMP, as the most popular model for shared-memory parallel programming as the main GPRM competitor for solving three well-known problems on both platforms: LU factorisation of Sparse Matrices, Image Convolution, and Linked List Processing. We focus on proposing solutions that best fit into the GPRMâs model of execution. GPRM outperforms OpenMP in all cases on the TILEPro64. On the Xeon Phi, our solution for the LU Factorisation results in notable performance improvement for sparse matrices with large numbers of small blocks. We investigate the overhead of GPRMâs task creation and distribution for very short computations using the Image Convolution benchmark. We show that this overhead can be mitigated by combining smaller tasks into larger ones. As a result, GPRM can outperform OpenMP for convolving large 2D matrices on the Xeon Phi. Finally, we demonstrate that our parallel worksharing construct provides an efficient solution for Linked List processing and performs better than OpenMP implementations on the Xeon Phi.
The results are very promising, as they verify that our parallel programming framework for manycore processors is flexible and scalable, and can provide high performance without
sacrificing productivity
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Plant figurations : a vital study in rhetorical address following Theodor W. Adorno
In this dissertation, I ask the question: how is (and is not) the plant both subject and object of human rhetoric? In taking up the question, I explore an array of texts, artifacts, and encounters revealing âthe plantâ addressed as a vital object of subjective experience and as a subject of objective reflection. Following what Diane Davis and Michelle Ballif call âextrahuman rhetorical relations,â I demonstrate an orientation of struggle that holds the question open at its limit, by approaching iterations of âthe plantâ caught in motion. I apply a method drawn from Frankfurt School scholar Theodor W. Adornoâs invitation to apply negative dialecticsâor immanent criticismâto everyday sites of personal encounter and interdisciplinary texts. I understand the dialectic features of human-plant relations in three chapters or figures studies. First, I examine the concept of ânatural historyâ revealed in a site-specific experience at Red Rock State Park in California. Second, I look at the historic and contemporary texts that name a parasitic liana known as the Sipo-Matador. Third, I hear the sounding of European trees emanating through a vinyl copy of the 2012 art-album Years by BartholomĂ€us Traubeck. Approaching these figures in affirmative and negative modes, I argue that keeping the dialectic in motion instantiates a critical processâa reflection on reflective capacityâacross multiple renderings of representation and structure. Writing and reading is an essential part of this process. In understanding thinking as a movement of mediationâa dramatic journey joining the dialectic across theoretical abstraction and lived realityâI reveal a multidimensional orientation to rhetorical criticism suited to hear the plant, addressed. My approach, I argue, keeps Adorno and the plantâboth subjects and objects of this dissertationâclose enough to touch while at bay enough to remain mysterious. I trace a malignant structure surrounding my encounter between the human and the plantâthe Enlightenment in its dominating iterationsâin relief as much as I hope to leave open creative reflection and vital critique.Communication Studie
Physical, biological and cultural factors influencing the formation, stabilisation and protection of archaeological deposits in U.K. coastal waters
A considerable corpus of information regarding the formation of
terrestrial archaeological deposits exists which is not matched by
studies of deposit formation in coastal waters. Similarly, there is a
disjunction between strident calls for minimal disturbance
investigation, with conservation in situ, and knowledge of how this
might actually be achieved in the marine environment.
The manner in which the investigation of deposit formation can
complement the study of in situ conservation is considered An
approach is proposed which combines selected elements of Schiffer's
Transformation Theory with a method of studying changes to
deposits outlined by Wildesen. It is suggested that, although
sufficient regularities can be detected in the influence of formation
processes to allow their influence to be recognised and inference
refined accordingly, there are case specific limitations on the extent
to which the precise influence of each process can be described and
evaluated.
A case study is presented which investigates casual depredation as a
formation process. Commercial fishing activity and marine
burrowing activity are the subject of detailed consideration. New
insights into these processes result from this study and specific
recommendations concerning in situ conservation of deposits subject
to their influence are made. The need to consider fishing practice as
well as the mechanical properties of fishing gear in the study of
deposit formation and protection is emphasised. The excavation of a
16th century wreck in Studland Bay, Dorset, is used to demonstrate
the pervasive influence of burrowing activity and the problems
associated with mitigation of this process. Recommendations are
made regarding future study of formation processes and the
development of policy related to the management of the submerged
archaeological resource