About the Technology

Modern computing hardware comes equipped with multicore CPUs and GPUs that can process numerous instruction sets simultaneously. Parallel computing takes advantage of this now-standard computer architecture to execute multiple operations at the same time, offering the potential for applications that run faster, are more energy efficient, and can be scaled to tackle problems that demand large computational capabilities. But to get these benefits, you must change the way you design and write software. Taking advantage of the tools, algorithms, and design patterns created specifically for parallel processing is essential to creating top performing applications.

About the book

Parallel and High Performance Computing is an irreplaceable guide for anyone who needs to maximize application performance and reduce execution time. Parallel computing experts Robert Robey and Yuliana Zamora take a fundamental approach to parallel programming, providing novice practitioners the skills needed to tackle any high-performance computing project with modern CPU and GPU hardware. Get under the hood of parallel computing architecture and learn to evaluate hardware performance, scale up your resources to tackle larger problem sizes, and deliver a level of energy efficiency that makes high performance possible on hand-held devices. When you’re done, you’ll be able to build parallel programs that are reliable, robust, and require minimal code maintenance.

This book is unique in its breadth, with discussions of parallel algorithms, techniques to successfully develop parallel programs, and wide coverage of the most effective languages for the CPU and GPU. The programming paradigms include MPI, OpenMP threading, and vectorization for the CPU. For the GPU, the book covers OpenMP and OpenACC directive-based approaches and the native-based CUDA and OpenCL languages.

What's inside

• Steps for planning a new parallel project
• Choosing the right data structures and algorithms
• Addressing underperforming kernels and loops
• The differences in CPU and GPU architecture

About the reader

For experienced programmers with proficiency in a high performance computing language such as C, C++, or Fortran.

About the authors

Robert Robey has been active in the field of parallel computing for over 30 years. He works at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and has previously worked at the University of New Mexico, where he started up the Albuquerque High Performance Computing Center. Yuliana Zamora has lectured on efficient programming of modern hardware at national conferences, based on her work developing applications running on tens of thousands of processing cores and the latest GPU architectures.