Performance range comparison for restructuring compilation

A major difficulty in restructuring compilation is how to compare parallel performance over a range of system and problem sizes. This study introduces the concept of range comparison for data-parallel programming. Unlike conventional execution time comparison in which performance is compared for a particular system and problem size, range comparison compares the performance of programs over a range of ensemble and problem sizes via scalability and performance crossing point analysis. An algorithm is developed to predict the crossing point automatically. The correctness of the algorithm is proved and a methodology is developed to integrate range comparison into restructuring compilations. A preliminary prototype of the methodology is implemented and tested under Vienna Fortran Compilation System. Experimental results demonstrate that range comparison is feasible and effective