Project Triton: towards improved programmability of parallel machines

The approach taken in the Triton project is to let a high-level machine-independent parallel programming language drive the design of parallel hardware. This approach permits machine-independent parallel programs to be compiled into efficient machine code. The main results are as follows: (1) The parallel programming language Modula-2* extends Modula-2 with constructs for expressing a wide range of parallel algorithms in a high-level, portable, and readable way. (2) Techniques are used for efficiently translating Modula-2* programs to several modern parallel architectures and deriving recommendations for future parallel machine architectures. (3) Triton/1 is a scalable, mixed-mode SIMD/MIMD parallel computer with a highly efficient communications network. It overcomes several deficiencies of current parallel hardware and adequately supports high-level parallel languages.