Parallel programming on a PC — a case study

Abstract

This paper evaluates possibilities of parallel programming on a personal computer for real-time applications. Price/performance ratio makes these machines attractive parts of real-time system configuration. The framework for this case study is the existing implementation of extended Modula-2. A concurrency model named asynchronous process communication has been defined and implemented on a SUN workstation. The implementation was done in Modula-2, extending the language with new constructs convenient for parallel and distributed programming. The main reason for conducting this experiment was to make an existing system available for personal computers. The paper stresses what are the features that have to be re-programmed in order to run the same concurrent program on both SUN workstation and personal computer. It will be shown that most of the changes are done in the implementation domain while the concurrency concept remains unchanged. The resulting system is very attractive for classroom exercises and provides a practical and inexpensive environment for teaching course in concurrent programming and process control systems.