A simulation tool for parallel algorithms design

Summary form only given. The parallel algorithm performance analyzer (PAPA) is a tool that provides a programming and experimental environment for studying and analyzing the interaction among these factors: amount of inherent parallelism, grain size, communication structure of problems, overlapping between computation and communication, and speed of interprocess communication (IPC). PAPA has three major design objectives: (1) Small size. The entire simulation tool can be stored in a single-sided, double-density diskette and can be easily brought into main memory by a single load. When it resides in the memory, it does not use up available memory space. (2) Simplicity. The overall size and complexity of the tool must be easily understood and installed by the user. (3) Adaptability. The tool must be of value in solving a wide class of problems, either directly or indirectly, with minor modifications. The design philosophy of PAPA stresses simplicity and ease of use. It runs on the ordinary IBM personal computer and its clones, employing monochrome monitor and keyboard input