CISC 879 Parallel Computation
-- Spring 2003 Syllabus
Meeting Time and Place
Thursdays 7-10pm, Smith 220
Prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisites.
Programming experience in C, C++, or Fortran is expected.
CISC 662 Computer Architecture is recommended.
CISC 621 Computer Algorithms is recommended.
Familiarity with a computational problem, on any subject, which would benefit
from parallelization is useful but not required.
Required Textbook
Designing and Building Parallel Programs,
by Ian Foster, Addison Wesley, 1995.
Other References
Using MPI:
Portable Parallel Programming with the Message-Passing Interface,
by W. Gropp, E. Lusk and A. Skjellum, MPI Press, 1999.
Parallel Programming
with MPI, by Peter Pacheco, Morgan Kaufmann, 1997.
Computational Aspects of VLSI, by Jeffrey Ullman, Computer Science Press, 1984.
The High Performance Fortran Handbook, Koelbel et al, MIT Press, 1994.
This list will be expanded as the course progresses.
Course Objectives and Content
Study of algorithms and tools for high performance computation
using many processors and memories.
This course is a problem-driven study of
techniques for parallel computation. Problems will be taken from
the areas of interest of the course participants.
Topics include: concurrency, program decomposition, data distribution,
communication, load balancing, scalability, locality, granularity,
debugging, and performance evaluation.
MPI programming on a cluster will be emphasized as the primary parallel programming
paradigm. Other methodologies will also be studied.
Application to matrix problems, for sparse and dense matrices, will be
emphasized, since that is the area of research of the instructor.
Other interests of participants may also be addressed such as grid based problems
or particle problems.
Course Requirements and Grading
- (15%) Lecture presentation
- (30%) Small programs, exercises, and quizzes
- (10%) Attendance, preparation, participation.
Unexcused absences and tardiness will detract from your final grade.
Active participation in classroom activities is expected.
-
(30%) (Group) Project
-
(15%) Final Presentation of project
Email Questions
I have found that the quickest way to resolve ambiguities and answer questions
on homework and programming assignments is via email. Any questions sent
to saunders@cis.udel.edu will be anonymously posted with an answer
via email to the entire class. Questions can also be posted to the
whole class directly: CISC879-010-03S@udel.edu.
I'll try to answer as can anyone with something to say on the subject.
Assignment Submission
The due dates are to be taken seriously and you should not expect them
to be extended. The pace of work is implicit in the due dates and necessary
if you expect to finish by the end of the semester. Deliverables to be
graded should be turned in at the start of class on the specified due
date. No late assignments will be accepted for full credit without discussion
with me prior to the due date. If you cannot reach me, leave a message
on my voicemail. All other assignments not delivered by the due date are
considered late.
My philosophy on late assignments is: (1) Everyone should try their
best to complete all assignments by the specified due date. (2) People
who work conscientiously to make the deadlines should be rewarded for
their promptness and sacrifice of sleep. Thus, allowing others to hand
in late assignments without some penalty is not fair to these people. However,
there are various circumstances that may prevent you from completing an
assignment by the due date. Allowing no late assignments would not give
you much incentive to continue to work on the assignment, which is a major
source of learning in this course. Thus, I believe late assignments are
better than no assignment.
Late assignments will be penalized 10% off the total possible points
if turned in within the first 24-hour period after the specified due date
and time, and 10% per 24-hour period (or fraction of a day) (including
weekends) after that time, up to a week after the due date. Late assignments
will be accepted with penalty up to one week after the due date. Assignments
submitted at any later time without an approved excuse will not be accepted.
It is up to you to determine the version of your assignment to be graded.
You must weigh the late penalty against the completeness of your assignment.
Policy on Academic Dishonesty
The projects in this class will be performed in groups. Small MPI
assignments will be done individually. You are permitted
to consult with other students and professors on any conceptual problems
or for debugging assistance on all programming assignments. Any evidence
of collaboration other than this kind will be handled as stated in the
Official Student Handbook of the University of Delaware. If you are in
doubt regarding the requirements, please consult with me before you complete
any requirement of this course.
Staff |
Name |
Office |
Email |
Phone |
Office Hours |
Instructor |
David Saunders |
101E Smith |
saunders@cis.udel.edu |
831-6238 |
10-12am Wednesdays and Thursdays, and by appt |
This document is
http://www.cis.udel.edu/~saunders/courses/879-03s/syllabus.html
saunders@cis.udel.edu