Abstract
NCX is an extended C language for data-parallelism, which is one of the most important computation models to support realistic applications of massively parallel computers. The design criteria of the language include easy shifting from the C language, low-cost implementation of efficient compilers, and high integrity as a programming language. The language is based on the concept of virtual processors, each being powerful enough to execute the full-set C language. Several features for data-parallel computation, such as inter-processor communication, are added to the language so that they obey the design principles of the base language C. The language is intended to be used on various architectures, and is now being implemented for some machines with different architectures. In order to support low-cost but efficient implementation of NCX, a preprocessor, called NICS, has been developed, which performs common, machine-independent analysis and generates intermediate code. This paper overviews the major extended features of NCX, together with some programming examples, and shows that NCX provides sufficient expressive power for data-parallel computation while it is based on the simple and clear notion of virtual processors. This paper also introduces NICS and shows how it can be used in compiler construction.
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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Yuasa, T., Kijima, T., Konishi, Y. (1995). The data-parallel C language NCX and its implementation strategies. In: Ito, T., Yonezawa, A. (eds) Theory and Practice of Parallel Programming. TPPP 1994. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 907. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0026583
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0026583
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