Publication: The Pilot Approach to Cluster Programming in C

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Title	The Pilot Approach to Cluster Programming in C
Authors/Editors*	J. Carter, W.B. Gardner, G. Grewal
Where published*	Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Scientific and Engineering Computing (PDSEC-10), Proc. of the 24th IEEE International Parallel & Distributed Processing Symposium, Workshops and Phd Forum
How published*	Proceedings
Year*	2010
Volume
Number
Pages	8 pp
Publisher	IEEE
Keywords	MPI; library; parallel programming; deadlock detection; CSP
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Abstract	The Pilot library offers a new method for programming parallel clusters in C. Formal elements from Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) were used to realize a process/channel model of parallel computation that reduces opportunities for deadlock and other communication errors. This simple model, plus an application programming interface (API) fashioned on Câs formatted I/O, are designed to make the library easy for novice scientific C programmers to learn. Optional runtime services including deadlock detection help the programmer to debug communication issues. Pilot forms a thin layer on top of standard Message Passing Interface (MPI), preserving the latterâs portability and efficiency, with little performance impact. MPIâs powerful collective operations can still be accessed within the conceptual model.