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Understanding the performance of parallel symbolic programs

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Parallel Symbolic Languages and Systems (PSLS 1995)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1068))

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Abstract

Parallel symbolic programs usually exhibit certain characteristics: dynamic, data-dependent behavior patterns; complex run-time interactions that cross modularity boundaries; and control structures characterized by recursion and hierarchy. Studying the performance of such programs requires flexible tools that can adapt to the many different execution patterns that can occur.

Vista is a performance-visualization system oriented toward these needs. It is built around a set of core performance data set types — histograms and event histories — designed to allow great flexibility in specifying the content of the data sets. This flexibility includes the capability to (1) specify multiple time bases, threading fields, and histogram dimensions; (2) express relationships between different parts of the data; (3) include application-dependent information; and (4) specify display defaults controlling how data is to be presented. Vista contains modules that provide various ways to analyze and view performance data, along with an infrastructure for combining those modules into complete performance-visualization applications. A notable feature of the Vista infrastructure is its support for interactive linkage of cursor positions and other properties between modules, allowing data exploration from several different but co-ordinated viewpoints.

Many aspects of Vista's design are still in the process of being implemented, but Vista has already been used to study performance data from parallel Multilisp programs and a (sequential) speech-recognition engine. Work currently in progress is applying Vista to other parallel programming systems and to a parallel file server.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DEC Cambridge Research Lab, One Kendall Square, Bldg. 700, 02139, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Robert H. Halstead Jr.

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  1. Robert H. Halstead Jr.
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Takayasu Ito Robert H. Halstead Jr. Christian Queinnec

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Halstead, R.H. (1996). Understanding the performance of parallel symbolic programs. In: Ito, T., Halstead, R.H., Queinnec, C. (eds) Parallel Symbolic Languages and Systems. PSLS 1995. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1068. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0023056

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0023056

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-61143-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68332-2

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