15,045 research outputs found
Array languages and the N-body problem
This paper is a description of the contributions to the SICSA multicore challenge on many body
planetary simulation made by a compiler group at the University of Glasgow. Our group is part of
the Computer Vision and Graphics research group and we have for some years been developing array
compilers because we think these are a good tool both for expressing graphics algorithms and for
exploiting the parallelism that computer vision applications require.
We shall describe experiments using two languages on two different platforms and we shall compare
the performance of these with reference C implementations running on the same platforms. Finally
we shall draw conclusions both about the viability of the array language approach as compared to
other approaches used in the challenge and also about the strengths and weaknesses of the two, very
different, processor architectures we used
Active data structures on GPGPUs
Active data structures support operations that may affect a large number of elements of an aggregate data structure. They are well suited for extremely fine grain parallel systems, including circuit parallelism. General purpose GPUs were designed to support regular graphics algorithms, but their intermediate level of granularity makes them potentially viable also for active data structures. We consider the characteristics of active data structures and discuss the feasibility of implementing them on GPGPUs. We describe the GPU implementations of two such data structures (ESF arrays and index intervals), assess their performance, and discuss the potential of active data structures as an unconventional programming model that can exploit the capabilities of emerging fine grain architectures such as GPUs
Functional Baby Talk: Analysis of Code Fragments from Novice Haskell Programmers
What kinds of mistakes are made by novice Haskell developers, as they learn about functional programming? Is it possible to analyze these errors in order to improve the pedagogy of Haskell? In 2016, we delivered a massive open online course which featured an interactive code evaluation environment. We captured and analyzed 161K interactions from learners. We report typical novice developer behavior; for instance, the mean time spent on an interactive tutorial is around eight minutes. Although our environment was restricted, we gain some understanding of Haskell novice errors. Parenthesis mismatches, lexical scoping errors and do block misunderstandings are common. Finally, we make recommendations about how such beginner code evaluation environments might be enhanced
The Glasgow Parallel Reduction Machine: Programming Shared-memory Many-core Systems using Parallel Task Composition
We present the Glasgow Parallel Reduction Machine (GPRM), a novel, flexible
framework for parallel task-composition based many-core programming. We allow
the programmer to structure programs into task code, written as C++ classes,
and communication code, written in a restricted subset of C++ with functional
semantics and parallel evaluation. In this paper we discuss the GPRM, the
virtual machine framework that enables the parallel task composition approach.
We focus the discussion on GPIR, the functional language used as the
intermediate representation of the bytecode running on the GPRM. Using examples
in this language we show the flexibility and power of our task composition
framework. We demonstrate the potential using an implementation of a merge sort
algorithm on a 64-core Tilera processor, as well as on a conventional Intel
quad-core processor and an AMD 48-core processor system. We also compare our
framework with OpenMP tasks in a parallel pointer chasing algorithm running on
the Tilera processor. Our results show that the GPRM programs outperform the
corresponding OpenMP codes on all test platforms, and can greatly facilitate
writing of parallel programs, in particular non-data parallel algorithms such
as reductions.Comment: In Proceedings PLACES 2013, arXiv:1312.221
Realising nondeterministic I/O in the Glasgow Haskell Compiler
In this paper we demonstrate how to relate the semantics given by the nondeterministic call-by-need calculus FUNDIO [SS03] to Haskell. After introducing new correct program transformations for FUNDIO, we translate the core language used in the Glasgow Haskell Compiler into the FUNDIO language, where the IO construct of FUNDIO corresponds to direct-call IO-actions in Haskell. We sketch the investigations of [Sab03b] where a lot of program transformations performed by the compiler have been shown to be correct w.r.t. the FUNDIO semantics. This enabled us to achieve a FUNDIO-compatible Haskell-compiler, by turning o not yet investigated transformations and the small set of incompatible transformations. With this compiler, Haskell programs which use the extension unsafePerformIO in arbitrary contexts, can be compiled in a "safe" manner
Action semantics in retrospect
This paper is a themed account of the action semantics project, which Peter Mosses has led since the 1980s. It explains his motivations for developing action semantics, the inspirations behind its design, and the foundations of action semantics based on unified algebras. It goes on to outline some applications of action semantics to describe real programming languages, and some efforts to implement programming languages using action semantics directed compiler generation. It concludes by outlining more recent developments and reflecting on the success of the action semantics project
Domain-Specific Acceleration and Auto-Parallelization of Legacy Scientific Code in FORTRAN 77 using Source-to-Source Compilation
Massively parallel accelerators such as GPGPUs, manycores and FPGAs represent
a powerful and affordable tool for scientists who look to speed up simulations
of complex systems. However, porting code to such devices requires a detailed
understanding of heterogeneous programming tools and effective strategies for
parallelization. In this paper we present a source to source compilation
approach with whole-program analysis to automatically transform single-threaded
FORTRAN 77 legacy code into OpenCL-accelerated programs with parallelized
kernels.
The main contributions of our work are: (1) whole-source refactoring to allow
any subroutine in the code to be offloaded to an accelerator. (2) Minimization
of the data transfer between the host and the accelerator by eliminating
redundant transfers. (3) Pragmatic auto-parallelization of the code to be
offloaded to the accelerator by identification of parallelizable maps and
reductions.
We have validated the code transformation performance of the compiler on the
NIST FORTRAN 78 test suite and several real-world codes: the Large Eddy
Simulator for Urban Flows, a high-resolution turbulent flow model; the shallow
water component of the ocean model Gmodel; the Linear Baroclinic Model, an
atmospheric climate model and Flexpart-WRF, a particle dispersion simulator.
The automatic parallelization component has been tested on as 2-D Shallow
Water model (2DSW) and on the Large Eddy Simulator for Urban Flows (UFLES) and
produces a complete OpenCL-enabled code base. The fully OpenCL-accelerated
versions of the 2DSW and the UFLES are resp. 9x and 20x faster on GPU than the
original code on CPU, in both cases this is the same performance as manually
ported code.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, submitted to "Computers and Fluids" as full
paper from ParCFD conference entr
Refactoring pattern matching
Defining functions by pattern matching over the arguments is advantageous for understanding and reasoning, but it tends to expose the implementation of a datatype. Significant effort has been invested in tackling this loss of modularity; however, decoupling patterns from concrete representations while maintaining soundness of reasoning has been a challenge. Inspired by the development of invertible programming, we propose an approach to program refactoring based on a right-invertible language rinv—every function has a right (or pre-) inverse. We show how this new design is able to permit a smooth incremental transition from programs with algebraic datatypes and pattern matching, to ones with proper encapsulation, while maintaining simple and sound reasoning
Tracing and Debugging of Lazy Functional Programs - A Comparative Evaluation of Three Systems
In this paper we compare three systems for tracing and debugging Haskell programs: Freja, the Redex Trail System and Hood. We identify the similarities and differences of these systems and we evaluate their usefulness in practice by applying them to a number of small to medium programs in which errors had deliberately been introduced
Supporting students in the transition to postgraduate taught study in STEM subjects
While there has been a wide range of studies examining the transition of undergraduate and postgraduate research students,
there are few which concentrate on the experiences of postgraduate taught (PGT) students. This is unfortunate, because PGT
students have pressing needs for support: since taught masters courses last for usually one academic year, postgraduate students
are asked to adapt and succeed at a far faster rate than undergraduates, who take four years in Scotland to complete an honours
degree. PGT students are a minority group amongst the university population, with e.g. more than three times as many
undergraduates enrolled at the University of Glasgow than postgraduates. Furthermore, international students represent a high
proportion of PGT students. To better understand the needs of PGT students and therefore improve the quality of their
education, we need to understand their experiences and challenges as they transition through their course. This paper presents
a study focused on PGT students in STEM subjects at the University of Glasgow. Feedback from students in the College of
Science and Engineering was gathered using a multi-methodological approach. Surveys, one-to-one interviews and a workshop
were utilised to investigate students’ perceptions of support received from staff and services. This data was linked to student
academic confidence, social confidence, and overall satisfaction with their experience at the university. Data were gathered at
three points in the year to evaluate whether perceptions change as students progress through their course. This data from
surveys and interviews was used to direct a workshop, which discussed potential solutions to issues raised. Better online
resources were identified as key to feeling prepared before the commencement of a PGT course, and better communication
with lecturers and peers was important to the success and satisfaction of students, particularly after beginning PGT study
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