Hetero Helix: Synchronous and asynchronous control systems in heterogeneous distributed networks

Abstract

Hetero Helix is a programming environment which simulates shared memory on a heterogeneous network of computers. The machines in the network can vary with respect to their native operating systems and internal representation of numbers. Hetero Helix was designed to present in simple programming model to developers, and also considers the needs of designers, system integrators, and maintainers. The key software technology underlying Hetero Helix is the use of a ‘compiler’ which analyzes the date structures in shared memory and automatically generates code which translated data representations from the format native to each machine into a format understood by all machines, and vice versa. This automatic code generation insures correctness and eases the burden on code developers, who would otherwise have to do the same job by hand. Hetero Helix has been used successfully in connection with an integration effort involving 27 CPUs in a heterogeneous network and a body of software totalling roughly 100,000 lines of code.