VPEcons: a visual constructor for parallel programming

The performance and cost-performance benefits of parallel systems make them attractive platforms for many applications. But, these are unfortunately offset by the difficulties of programming parallel computers. Therefore, programming tools are the key to achieve greater success in developing applications for parallel architectures. This paper describes a new tool, VPEcons, for parallel programming development. It uses graphics to assist in the design of parallel programs. To facilitate the portability of the constructor, a VPEcons Builder has also been developed. It is a tool for creating basic component blocks and binding an existing language to the blocks created. The usefulness of the constructor is demonstrated with a parallel discrete-event simulation example and by comparing it with other visual parallel programming tools