A formal model for SIMD computation

Author

Rice, M.D. ; Seidman, S.B. ; Wang, P.Y.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Comput. Sci., George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA, USA

fYear

1988

fDate

10-12 Oct 1988

Firstpage

601

Lastpage

607

Abstract

A formal model for single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) computation is presented that captures the essential operating features of current SIMD computers, yet allows for extensions and variations of existing architectures. The fundamental components of the model are a host computer, a set of processing elements, a set of control units, a set of input/output controllers, and a set of external devices. Each component sends or receives data or instructions to/from other components are described by six networks, each of which governs the communication between a single pair of components. The networks are represented as functions or collections of functions with formally specified mathematical properties that have natural interpretations in the context of SIMD computation. Using the functional approach, a set of four assumptions for SIMD computers is proposed, and consequences of these assumptions are explored

Keywords

formal specification; parallel processing; SIMD computation; control units; formal model; formally specified mathematical properties; host computer; input/output controllers; operating features; processing elements; Communication system control; Computational modeling; Computer aided instruction; Computer architecture; Computer languages; Computer networks; Computer science; Concurrent computing; Data flow computing; Multiprocessor interconnection networks;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Frontiers of Massively Parallel Computation, 1988. Proceedings., 2nd Symposium on the Frontiers of

Conference_Location

Fairfax, VA

Print_ISBN

0-8186-5892-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/FMPC.1988.47503

Filename

47503