The HasPar Performance Evaluation Suite for GpH: a Parallel Non-Strict Functional Language

K. Hammond, D.J. King, H.-W. Loidl, A.J. Rebon Portillo and P.W. Trinder.
Software - Practice and Experience, February, 2000. Submitted for publication.

The ultimate purpose of parallel computation is to improve performance by exploiting hardware duplication. In order to achieve this improvement, it is essential to have a good understanding of real parallel behaviour. This paper introduces the HasPar integrated suite of performance evaluation tools for Glasgow Parallel Haskell (GpH), a high-performance parallel non-strict functional language. This suite provides a framework for assessing and improving parallel program performance that has been used successfully on a number of large functional programs.

The HasPar suite includes both idealised and realistic simulators for GpH. It also incorporates an instrumented parallel implementation that can be used on a range of architectures including both tightly-coupled multiprocessors and loosely-coupled networks of workstations. An important feature of the tools is that they allow costs to be attributed to the parallel program source using either static or dynamic cost attribution mechanisms, as appropriate. The resulting performance profiles can be visualised in a number of different ways, as illustrated in this paper.

@Article{spe00,
  author = 	 {Hammond, K. and King, D.J. and Loidl, H-W. and
                  {Reb\'{o}n Portillo}, \'{A}.J. and Trinder, P.W.},
  title = 	 {{The HasPar Performance Evaluation Suite for {\sc GpH}:
                   a Parallel Non-Strict Functional Language}},
  journal = 	 {Software --- Practice and Experience},
  month =        feb,
  year = 	 2000,
  note =	 {Submitted for publication}
}

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