A Distributed Parallel Processing Environment Based upon the Linda Paradigm: A Research Prospectus

As the computing capacity of the uniprocessor is being taxed, and the high cost of parallel and super-computers is still prevalent, alternative methods of achieving parallel performance at an economical price are desired. This proposed research effort offers one such alternative, focusing on the idle CPU cycles existing on local area networks. With the increase in the computing power of workstations and their declining costs, one can effectively transform the unused computing power attached to a local area network into a parallel processing environment. Effectively exploiting such an environment, however, requires a specification and operational framework that is portable, easy to use, and efficient. The environment is constructed around the Linda parallel programming paradigm which provides an effective parallel computational framework.