Title :
A scalable debugger for massively parallel message-passing programs
Author :
Sistare, Steve ; Allen, Don ; Bowker, Rich ; Jourdenais, Karen ; Simons, Josh ; Title, Rich
Author_Institution :
Thinking Machines Corp., Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract :
In a message-passing program, there are at least as many threads as processors, and the programmer must deal with large numbers of them on a massively parallel machine. On our target machine, the CM-5, we had previously developed Prism, a programming environment that supports debugging, data visualization, and performance analysis of data-parallel programs. We discuss how our new version, Node Prism, extends Prism´s capabilities for message-passing programs. It looks and feels like the data-parallel version, but it uses new methods for user-debugger interaction that promote greater understanding of parallel programs. It offers scalable expression, execution, and interpretation of all debugging operations, making it easier to debug and understand message-passing programs.<>
Keywords :
message passing; parallel programming; program debugging; program diagnostics; programming environments; CM-5; Node Prism; Prism; data visualization; data-parallel programs; data-parallel version; debugging operations; massively parallel machine; massively parallel message-passing programs; performance analysis; program understanding; programming environment; scalable debugger; scalable expression; threads; user-debugger interaction; Data visualization; Debugging; Graphical user interfaces; Intrusion detection; Parallel machines; Performance analysis; Programming environments; Programming profession; Scalability;
Journal_Title :
Parallel & Distributed Technology: Systems & Applications, IEEE
