Improving the learning of parallel programming using software refactoring

Zhang, Yang

doi:10.1002/cae.21784

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…In addition, Dig et al [12] proposed a refactoring approach changing sequential recursive algorithms into a parallel version using ForkJoin-Task; they assessed popular recursive algorithms to show the benefits in execution time. Moreover, in [33], the authors presented a tool to substitute the Thread class with the Executor class to allow the use of a thread pool at runtime.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An analysis was performed to check whether the transformations preserved the behavior of the application and if the updated locks guaranteed a performance boost. A similar approach was presented in [20,33], where a tool was developed to automatically transform synchronized locks to re-entrant locks. In [20], the authors presented an automated approach to convert a synchronized statement lock into a StampedLock.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Automatic Transformer from Sequential to Parallel Java Code

Midolo,

Tramontana

2023

Future Internet

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Sequential programs can benefit from parallel execution to improve their performance. When developing a parallel application, several techniques are employed to achieve the desired behavior: identifying parts that can run in parallel, synchronizing access to shared data, tuning performance, etc. Admittedly, manually transforming a sequential application to make it parallel can be tedious due to the large number of lines of code to inspect, the possibility of errors arising from inaccurate data dependence analysis leading to unpredictable behavior, and inefficiencies when the workload between parallel threads is unbalanced. This paper proposes an automatic approach that analyzes Java source code to identify method calls that are suitable for parallel execution and transforms them so that they run in another thread. The approach is based on data dependence and control dependence analyses to determine the execution flow and data accessed. Based on the proposed method, a tool has been developed to enhance applications by incorporating parallelism, i.e., transforming suitable method calls to execute on parallel threads, and synchronizing data access where needed. The developed tool has been extensively tested to verify the accuracy of its analysis in finding parallel execution opportunities, the correctness of the source code alterations, and the resultant performance gain.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Automatic Transformer from Sequential to Parallel Java Code

Midolo,

Tramontana

2023

Future Internet

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They discussed how the unit testing harness was supposed to provide a rigid foundation for refactoring. Our previous work [29] proposed refactoring to enhance the learning effectiveness without the need for writing concurrent programs from scratch. A series of refactoring tools had been developed to help users understand concurrent structures.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During their learning process, participants are suggested to transform sequential structures into concurrent ones via at least six real‐world applications. Our early teaching experience [29] introduces refactoring to enhance the learning effectiveness without the need for writing concurrent programs from scratch. Both manual refactoring and automated tools are introduced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refactoring‐based learning for fine‐grained lock in concurrent programming course

Zhang

2021

Comp Applic In Engineering

Self Cite

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Fine‐grained lock is frequently used to mitigate lock contention in the multithreaded program running on a shared‐memory multicore processor. However, a concurrent program based on the fine‐grained lock is hard to write, especially for beginners in the concurrent programming course. How to help participants learn fine‐grained lock has become increasingly important and urgent. To this end, this paper presents a novel refactoring‐based approach to enhance the learning effectiveness of fine‐grained locks. Two refactoring tools are introduced to provide illustrating examples for participants by converting original coarse‐grained locks into fine‐grained ones automatically. Learning effectiveness and limitations are discussed when refactoring tools are applied. We evaluate students' outcomes with two benchmarks and compare their performance in Fall 2018 with those in Fall 2019. We also conduct experiments on students' outcomes by dividing them into two groups (A and B) in a controlled classroom where participants in group A learn the fine‐grained locks with the help of refactoring tools while those in group B do not access these tools. Evaluation of the results when they have been taught with the refactoring‐based approach reveals a significant improvement in the students' learning.

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Improving the learning of parallel programming using software refactoring

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

An Automatic Transformer from Sequential to Parallel Java Code

An Automatic Transformer from Sequential to Parallel Java Code

Refactoring‐based learning for fine‐grained lock in concurrent programming course

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