Graph-based Software Construction for Parallel Message-Passing Programs

A programming language which supports the adequate specification of both -- the parallel and sequential -- aspects of a program establishes the optimal basis for a parallel programming methodology. Parallel languages which are entirely based on textual representations are not the best choice for describing parallelism. The main drawbacks stem from the fact that the sequential order of textual representations hides the parallel structure of a program. We propose a new programming methodology and language (called Meander) integrating textual and graphical descriptions which is much better suited for parallel programming. Parallel aspects are formulated by means of a specification graph which is annotated by sequential code. Program design, coding and visualization then can be done in one single formalism which is suitable for all phases. Keywords: parallel programming environments, specifying parallelism, parallel programming languages, visual programming 1 Introduction Parallel progra..