Parallel Computation with the Force

A methodology, called the force, supports the construction of programs to be executed in parallel by a force of processes. The number of processes in the force is unspecified, but potentially very large. The force idea is embodied in a set of macros which produce multiprocessors of fairly different character. The method has simplified the writing of highly parallel programs within a limited class of parallel algorithms and is being extended to cover a broader class. This paper deals with the individual parallel constructs which comprise the force methodology. Of central concern are their semantics, implementation on different architectures and performance implications.