Programming with a Parametrized Parallel Programming Model

We present a new experimental framework, the F-PRAM model, for model- ing and studying the effects of different properties of parallel machines. The goal of the new model is to provide programmer-level facilities for more accurate and portable computation-communication balancing. As a computation model, F-PRAM provides shared memory but guides the usage of the shared memory by a set of parameters. In comparison with the BSP model, we provide more asynchronous execution and model the costs and delays induced by communication bandwidth restrictions, communication latency, overhead, and synchronization independently of each other. We have written a high level language compiler and a parametrized emulator to measure the effects of dif- ferent properties of parallel machines on different parallel algorithms.