http://www.netlib.org/pvm3/index.html PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) <abstract> PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) is a software system that enables a collection of heterogeneous computers to be used as a coherent and flexible concurrent computational resource. The individual computers may be shared- or local-memory multiprocessors, vector supercomputers, specialized graphics engines, or scalar workstations, that may be interconnected by a variety of networks, such as ethernet, FDDI, etc. PVM support software executes on each machine in a user-configurable pool, and presents a unified, general, and powerful computational environment of concurrent applications. User programs written in C or Fortran are provided access to PVM through the use of calls to PVM library routines for functions such as process initiation, message transmission and reception, and synchronization via barriers or rendezvous. Users may optionally control the execution location of specific application components. The PVM system transparently handles message routing, data conversion for incompatible architectures, and other tasks that are necessary for operation in a heterogeneous, network environment. <keywords>message passing library; machine cluster <category>ppt-comm <contact>pvm@msr.epm.ornl.gov <reference><url>http://www.netlib.org/pvm3/book/pvm-book.html</url> </urc>