Abstract
GRIP is a shared-memory multiprocessor designed for efficient parallel evaluation of functional languages, using compiled graph reduction. This paper investigates the feasibility of processing persistent data on GRIP, and presents results obtained from a pilot implementation. A database implemented in a pure functional language must be modified non-destructively, i.e. the original database must be preserved and a new copy constructed. The naive implementation provides evidence for the feasibility of data processing in the form of modest real-time speed-ups, and acceptable real-time performance. The functional database is also used to investigate the GRIP architecture, compared with an idealised machine. The particular features investigated are the thread-creation costs and caching of GRIP’s distributed memory.
This work is supported by the SERC GRASP and Bulk Data Types Projects.
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© 1992 British Computer Society
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Akerholt, G., Hammond, K., Peyton Jones, S., Trinder, P. (1992). A Parallel Functional Database on GRIP. In: Heldal, R., Holst, C.K., Wadler, P. (eds) Functional Programming, Glasgow 1991. Workshops in Computing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3196-0_1
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