Mainstream Parallel Array Programming on Cell

Abstract

Abstract. We present the E compiler and runtime library for the 'F' subset of the Fortran 95 programming language. 'F' provides first-class support for arrays, allowing E to implicitly evaluate array expressions in parallel using the SPU coprocessors of the Cell Broadband Engine. We present performance results from four benchmarks that all demonstrate absolute speedups over equivalent 'C' or Fortran versions running on the PPU host processor. A significant benefit of this straightforward approach is that a serial implementation of any code is always available, providing code longevity, and a familiar development paradigm.