This book contains selected papers from the ONR Workshop on Parallel Algorithm Design and Program Transformation that took place at New York University, Courant Institute, from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, 1991. The aim of the workshop was to bring together computer scientists in transformational programming and parallel algorithm design in order to encourage a sharing of ideas that might benefit both communities. It was hoped that exposurt: to algorithm design methods developed within the algorithm community would stimulate progress in software development for parallel architectures within the transformational community. It was also hoped that exposure to syntax directed methods and pragmatic programming concerns developed within the transformational community would encourage more realistic theoretical models of parallel architectures and more systematic and algebraic approaches to parallel algorithm design within the algorithm community. The workshop Organizers were Robert Paige, John Reif, and Ralph Wachter. The workshop was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research under grant number N00014-90-J-1421. There were 44 attendees, 28 presentations, and 5 system demonstrations. All attendees were invited to submit a paper for publication in the book. Each submitted paper was refereed by participants from the Workshop. The final decision on publication was made by the editors. There were several motivations for holding the workshop and for publishing papers contributed by its participants. Transformational programming and parallel computation are two emerging fields that may ultimately depend on each other for success.
Transformational programming and parallel computation are two emerging fields that may ultimately depend on each other for success. Perhaps because ad hoc programming on sequential machines is so straightforward, sequential programming methodology has had little impact outside the academic community, and transformational methodology has had little impact at all. However, because ad hoc programming for parallel machines is so hard, and because progress in software construction has lagged behind architectural advances for such machines, there is a much greater need to develop parallel programming and transformational methodologies. "Parallel Algorithm Derivation and Program Transformation" stimulates the investigation of formal ways to overcome problems of parallel computation, with respect to both software development and algorithm design. It represents perspectives from two different communities: transformational programming and parallel algorithm design, to discuss programming, transformational, and compiler methodologies for parallel architectures, and algorithmic paradigms, techniques, and tools for parallel machine models.
"Parallel Algorithm Derivation and Program Transformation" is an excellent reference for graduate students and researchers in parallel programming and transformational methodology. Each chapter contains a few initial sections in the style of a first-year, graduate textbook with many illustrative examples. The book may also be used as the text for a graduate seminar course or as a reference book for courses in software engineering, parallel programming or formal methods in program development.
