Abstract

Abstract
In this work we investigate how Distributed Shared Memory (DSM) architectures affect performance of or-parallel logic programming systems and how this performance approaches that of conventional C systems. Our work concentrates on basic performance, scalability, and programmability. We use execution-driven simulation of a hardware DSM (DASH) to investigate the access patterns and caching behaviour exhibited by parallel C programs and by Aurora, a parallel logic programming system capable of exploiting implicit parallelism in Prolog programs. Aurora was originally written to run on bus-based shared-memory platforms. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999.

Abstract
We propose a simple model of distribution for mobile processes, independent of the underlying calculus. Conventional processes compute within sites; inter-site computation is achieved by message sending and object migration, both obeying a lexical scope. We focus on the semantics of networks, on programming practice, and on physical realization with current technology. ©1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Abstract
One of the most important advantages of logic programming systems is that they allow the transparent exploitation of parallelism. The different forms of parallelism available and the complex nature of logic programming applications present interesting problems to both the users and the developers of these systems. Graphical visualisation tools can give a particularly important contribution, as they are easier to understand than text based tools, and allow both for a general overview of an execution and for focusing on its important details. Towards these goals, we propose VisAll, anew tool to visualise the parallel execution of logic programs. VisAll benefits from a modular design centered in a graph that represents a parallel execution. A main graphical shell commands the different modules and presents VisAll as an unified system. Several input components, or translators, support the well-known VisAndor and VACE trace formats, plus a new format designed for independent and-parallel plus or-parallel execution in the SEA. Several output components, or visualisers, allow for different visualisations of the same execution.

Abstract
Parallel logic programming (PLP) systems have obtained good performance on traditional bus-based shared-memory architectures. However, the scalable multiprocessors being developed today pose new challenges. Our experience with a sophisticated PLP system, Andorra-I, demonstrates that indeed performance suffers greatly on modern architectures. In order to improve performance, we perform a detailed analysis of the cache behaviour of all Andorra-I data structures via execution-driven simulation of a DASH-like multiprocessor. Based on this analysis we optimise the Andorra-I code using 5 different techniques. Our results show that the techniques provide significant performance improvements, leading to the conclusion that PLP systems can and should perform well on modern scalable multiprocessors.

Abstract