A visual approach for developing, understanding and analyzing parallel programs

Programming languages based solely upon plain textual representations inherit the textual linearization drawback. When writing parallel programs this shortcoming places an additional burden on the programmer because the most interesting parts of a parallel system are not linear. The bunch of existing visualization systems justifies the overall need for graphical methods in parallel programming. We argue that graphical support for all phases-namely program development, analysis and visualization-results in a more useful programming environment than a textual language supplemented by a set of isolated visualization tools. We describe the rationale for a visual parallel language and its use through all phases of program development in the Meander programming environment.