Configuration approach to parallel programming

This paper advocates a configuration approach to parallel programming for distributed memory multicomputers, in particular, arrays of transputers. The configuration approach prescribes the rigorous separation of the logical structure of a program from its component parts. In the context of parallel programs, components are processes which communicate by exchanging messages. The configuration defines the instances of these processes which exist in the program and the paths by which they are interconnected. The approach is demonstrated by a toolset (Tonic) which embodies the configuration paradigm. A separate configuration language is used to describe both the logical structure of the parallel program and the physical structure of the target multicomputer. Different logical to physical mappings can be obtained by applying different physical configurations to the same logical configuration. The toolset has been developed from the Conic system for distributed programming. The use of the toolset is illustrated through its application to the development of a parallel program to compute Mandelbrot sets.