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Introduction

  Parallel computers consist of several computing elements connected either by a shared-memory space or by a communication network. They support the execution of more than one operation at a given time and thus allow the simultaneous execution of the activities necessary for solving a problem. Computing elements cooperate either by reading from or writing to the shared-memory space or by using the communication network to send and receive messages. Programming parallel computers is significantly more difficult than programming uniprocessor machines. It presents substantial challenges which still seem to impede a more widespread use of parallel computers. This thesis addresses some of these challenges. We suggest to structure the programming process by means of a particular formal methodology. We intend to provide a solid theoretical foundation for more experimental future work.





Juergen Dingel
Fri Aug 6 12:11:51 EDT 1999