Multicore Parallel Programming: Can We Please do it Right This Time? – IEEE Electronic Design Processes Workshop 2008

Dr. Tim Mattson of Intel is someone to whom we listen closely. He has a better sense of the current situation than nearly anyone else we have spoken with, and he understands and appreciates our efforts with DataRush. He recently spoke at the IEEE DATC Electronic Design Processes Workshop, and this article highlights some of his points.

Mattson demolished another favorite idol of computer science: the parallel programming language. It’s a well-known trait of computer scientists that they will try to solve every problem with a new programming language. The parallel programming problem is no exception. Mattson displayed an eye chart listing the names of nearly 250 parallel programming languages developed just during the 1990s. “This is silly,” said Mattson, “If creating a new language was the solution, the problem would already be solved. This is not the path to a solution.”