ARMLang: A language and compiler for programming reconfigurable mesh many-cores

The reconfigurable mesh serves as a theoretical model for massively parallel computing, but has recently been investigated as a practical architecture for many-cores with light-weight, circuit-switched interconnects. There is a lack of programming environments, including languages, compilers, and debuggers for reconfigurable meshes. In this paper, we present the new language ARMLang for the specification of lockstep programs on regular processor arrays, in particular reconfigurable meshes. Lockstep synchronization is achieved by path equalization and barrier synchronization, both of which are supported by the new language. We further discuss the creation of an ARMLang compiler and a simulation environment that allows for debugging and visualization of the parallel programs.