Barriers and break-points in dataflow: extensions to SISAL language

摘要

The pure dataflow model of computation has such advantages as fine-grain parallelism, freedom from side-effects, and synchronization based purely on data dependencies. However, the model is not very amenable for describing coarse-grain parallelism, barriers and break-points. The paper shows how a dataflow language (SISAL) can be extended to permit the definition of coarse-grain processes, synchronization using join construct, and break-points for the purpose of debugging. The extensions do not violate the data-driven principles.