UC - A SET-BASED LANGUAGE FOR DATA-PARALLEL PROGRAMMING

UC is a data-parallel extension of C designed for scientific computations on synchronous and asynchronous parallel architectures. The primary constructs of the language include sets, reductions, and parallel and asynchronous composition. Its communication model is that of a globally addressable memory, with no syntactic distinction between local and remote data references, Unlike most existing data-parallel languages, UC programs may be synchronized at multiple levels of granularity, from a strict expression-level synchronization to a coarser statement or function-level synchronization. This paper describes the language and its implementation on the Connection Machine CM-2. Experimental measurements that compare the performance of the UC compiler with that of programs written in commercial parallel languages such as CM Fortran, C*, and *Lisp are also presented. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.