NHSE Software Catalog

PCN (Program Composition Notation)

url

ftp://info.mcs.anl.gov/pub/pcn

abstract

PCN is a parallel programming system designed to improve the productivity
of scientists and engineers using parallel computers. It provides a simple
language for specifying concurrent algorithms, interfaces to Fortran and C, a
portable toolkit that allows applications to be developed on a workstation or
small parallel computer and run unchanged on supercomputers, and
integrated debugging and performance analysis tools. PCN was developed at
Argonne National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology. It
has been used to develop a wide variety of applications, in areas such as
climate modeling, fluid dynamics, computational biology, chemistry, and
circuit simulation.

environment

PCN can be used to program advanced parallel supercomputers such as the
IBM SP1, workstation networks, and shared-memory multiprocessors. PCN
is not difficult to port and can be installed on most new parallel processor
systems as they become available.

contact

Ian Foster / foster@mcs.anl.gov

keywords

parallel programming language