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Friday, February
22, 2013
11:00 AM – 12:00
PM
Fuller Labs 320
Abstract:
Most
programming languages were designed without parallel programming in mind.
Attempts to add on parallel programming features, or parallel libraries, are
doomed to a struggle against the impediments built into the original
languages. These impediments include a
heavy reliance on pointers, unrestricted use of global variables, a global
garbage-collected heap, parameter aliasing, run-time exception handling,
explicit threads, locking, and signaling, with the potential for
unintentional race-conditions.
ParaSail (Parallel
Specification and Implementation Language) is a new parallel programming
language with a familiar class-and-interface-based object-oriented
programming model, but designed specifically to eliminate impediments to easy
parallel programming. In ParaSail, it is easier to
write parallel algorithms than sequential ones. Pointers are eliminated in favor of
expandable and shrinkable objects. Race conditions are eliminated at
compile-time, as are other possible run-time errors such as use of null
values or uninitialized data, indexing outside of an array, numeric overflow,
dangling references, etc. The net effect is a language that feels familiar,
is a pleasure to program in, but nevertheless results in highly parallel,
race-condition-free, well-structured programs.
____
S.Tucker Taft is VP and Director of Language
Research at AdaCore.
From 2002 to 2011 Tucker was head of
SofCheck, a company focused on automated software
error detection. From 1980-2002,
Tucker was at Intermetrics, focusing on programming
language design, compiler design and implementation, and web-based
collaboration tools.
From 1995-2000 Tucker led the team
designing the revision to Ada known as Ada 95, the first internationally
standardized object-oriented programming language. Tucker lives in Lexington, MA with his wife
Phyllis. They have two grown
daughters, one now working toward a Ph.D. in Computer Science at MIT, the
other headed to med school. Tucker has
been working on the design and implementation of ParaSail
since September 2009.
Host:
Prof. Craig Wills
Refreshments
will be served
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