skip to main content
article
Free Access

Parallel threads: parallel computation labs for CS 3 and CS 4

Published:15 March 1995Publication History
Skip Abstract Section

Abstract

One objective in establishing our NSF ILI funded parallel computation laboratory was to use closed, formal laboratory assignments to introduce parallelism throughout the core computer science curriculum. We discuss laboratory assignments developed for the Computer Organization (CS 3) and Algorithms (CS 4) courses.

The CS 3 lab introduces parallelism based upon processor replication and two-performance indices for evaluating performance of parallel algorithms, speedup and efficiency. One factor that effects performance on MIMD message passage architectures, the ratio of computation to communication, is also introduced.

The CS 4 lab guides students in developing a parallel version of Dijkstra's single source shortest path algorithm. A case study using parallel addition assists students in identifying potential parallelism by examining the data dependency of computations. Students working in teams of two develop a pseudo-code version of the single source shortest path algorithm for an abstract parallel machine. They also analyze the speedup and efficiency of an implementation of the algorithm for one, four and eight processors.

References

  1. Harlan, R., "'Searching in Parallel: A Case Study with the Single Source Shortest Path Algorithm," 22rid SGGCSE Technical Proceedings. March, 1991. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  2. Quinn, M., Designing Efficient Algorithms for Parallel Computers, McGraw-Hill, 1987. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  3. Hyde, D., Introduction to the Principles of Parallel Processing, Jones and Bartlett, forthcoming, 1994.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar

Index Terms

  1. Parallel threads: parallel computation labs for CS 3 and CS 4

              Recommendations

              Comments

              Login options

              Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

              Sign in

              Full Access

              • Published in

                cover image ACM SIGCSE Bulletin
                ACM SIGCSE Bulletin  Volume 27, Issue 1
                March 1995
                402 pages
                ISSN:0097-8418
                DOI:10.1145/199691
                Issue’s Table of Contents
                • cover image ACM Conferences
                  SIGCSE '95: Proceedings of the twenty-sixth SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
                  March 1995
                  436 pages
                  ISBN:089791693X
                  DOI:10.1145/199688
                  • Chairman:
                  • Cary Laxer,
                  • Editors:
                  • Curt M. White,
                  • James E. Miller,
                  • Judy Gersting

                Copyright © 1995 ACM

                Publisher

                Association for Computing Machinery

                New York, NY, United States

                Publication History

                • Published: 15 March 1995

                Check for updates

                Qualifiers

                • article

              PDF Format

              View or Download as a PDF file.

              PDF

              eReader

              View online with eReader.

              eReader
              About Cookies On This Site

              We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.

              Learn more

              Got it!