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US/Japan Workshop on Parallel Lisp

PSC 1989: Parallel Lisp: Languages and Systems pp 1–57Cite as

New ideas in parallel lisp: Language design, implementation, and programming tools

  • Part I Parallel Lisp Languages and Programming Models
  • Conference paper
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 441))

Abstract

A Lisp-based approach is attractive for parallel computing since Lisp languages and systems assume significant clerical burdens, such as storage management. Parallel Lisps thus enable programmers to focus on the new problems introduced by using concurrency. Parallel Lisps now exist that can execute realistic applications with “industrial-strength” performance, but there are applications whose requirements they do not handle elegantly. Recent work has contributed new, elegant ideas in the areas of speculative computation, continuations, exception handling, aggregate data structures, and scheduling. Using these ideas, it should be possible to build “second generation” parallel Lisp systems that are as powerful and elegantly structured as sequential Lisp systems.

This paper surveys these recent ideas and explores how they could fit together in the parallel Lisp systems of the future, examining issues at three levels: language design, implementation techniques, and programming tools. The discussion is based on the Multilisp programming language, which is Scheme (a Lisp dialect) extended with the future construct. The paper outlines three criteria for judging Scheme extensions for parallel computing: compatibility with sequential Scheme, invariance of the result when future is introduced into side-effect-free Scheme programs, and modularity. Proposed language mechanisms, such as support for first-class continuations, are evaluated against these criteria.

In the area of implementation techniques, results of experiments with lazy task creation, unfair scheduling, and parallel garbage collection are surveyed; some areas that need more investigation, such as scheduler implementation for speculative computing, and interaction between user-level and operating-system schedulers, are identified. Finally, past work in tools to help with the development of Multilisp programs is surveyed, and needs for additional tools are discussed.

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  1. Digital Equipment Corporation, Cambridge Research Lab, One Kendall Square, Bldg. 700, 02139, Cambridge, Mass.

    Robert H. Halstead Jr.

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Takayasu Ito Robert H. Halstead Jr.

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Halstead, R.H. (1990). New ideas in parallel lisp: Language design, implementation, and programming tools. In: Ito, T., Halstead, R.H. (eds) Parallel Lisp: Languages and Systems. PSC 1989. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 441. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0024149

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