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Compile-time granularity analysis for parallel logic programming languages

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  • Program Analysis and Optimization
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Abstract

The paper describes a simple compiler analysis method for determining the “weight” of procedures in parallel logic programming languages. Using Flat Guarded Horn Clauses (FGHC) as an example, the analysis algorithm is described. Consideration of weights has been incorporated in the scheduler of a real-parallel FGHC emulator running on the Sequent Symmetry multiprocessor. Alternative demand-distribution methods are discussed, includingoldest-first andheaviest-first distributions. Performance measurements, collected from a group of non-trivial benchmarks on eight processors, show that the new schemes donot perform significantly faster than conventional distribution methods. This result is attributed to a combination of factors overshadowing the benefits of the new method: high system overheads, the low cost of spawning a goal on a shared memory multiprocessor, and the increase in synchronization caused by the new methods. Directions of further research are discussed, indicating where further speedup can be attained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, 153, Tokyo, Japan

    E. Tick

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  1. E. Tick
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Tick, E. Compile-time granularity analysis for parallel logic programming languages. NGCO 7, 325–337 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03037210

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03037210

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