The fortran-p translator: Towards automatic translation of fortran 77 programs for massively parallel processors

Terence P. Parr, Kevin Edgar, Steve Anderson, Paul Woodward, Hank Dietz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Massively parallel processors (MPPs) hold the promise of extremely high performance that, if realized, could be used to study problems of unprecedented size and complexity. One of the primary stumbling blocks to this promise has been the lack of tools to translate application codes to MPP form. In this article we show how applications codes written in a subset of Fortran 77, called Fortran-P, can be translated to achieve good performance on several massively parallel machines. This subset can express codes that are self-similar, where the algorithm applied to the global data domain is also applied to each subdomain. We have found many codes that match the Fortran-P programming style and have converted them using our tools. We believe a self-similar coding style will accomplish what a vectorizable style has accomplished for vector machines by allowing the construction of robust, user-friendly, automatic translation systems that increase programmer productivity and generate fast, efficient code for MPPs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-21
Number of pages21
JournalScientific Programming
Volume4
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1995

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Computer Science Applications

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