Multi-core Programming

Location: Arizona State University - Tempe Arizona
Program Length: 2-days
Program Fee: $895
Program Dates: August 13-14, 2009
Program Times: 8:300am - 4:30pm

The emergence of multi-cores will change computing as never before. For a long time, all that application developers needed to speed up their programs was to wait for Intel to roll out the next version of the processor. This steady trend has not only come to a grinding halt, but has started to reverse with the advent of multi-core processors. The performance of a single core in a multi-core processor is decreasing. A single threaded application will only become slower with time. Parallelization is no longer an option, it has now become mandatory. Software companies have to parallelize their applications or face extinction.

While last decade saw a tremendous need of software programmers, the greatest need in the coming decade will be of parallel programmers. While multi-core processors are already here, writing parallel programs that will be able to exploit multi-core processors is not a science, and need fundamental understanding of the hardware architecture, and concurrent execution.

Program Sections:

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Course Topics

This course will start with the emergence and inevitability of multi-core paradigm, and discuss its implications. Then we will go over fundamental concepts of concurrent programming, and give a premier of thread programming. The last session will cover some case studies on parallel programming, including stream programming, programming graphics processors, and programming the cell processor. The course will include a lab on programming on the cell processor.

Topics discussed in this course include:

  • The emergence of multi-core architectures
  • Survey of Multi-core Architectures
  • Fundamental concepts of parallel programming
  • Thread Programming
  • Thread Synchronization and cooperative processing
  • Multithreaded Debugging
  • Parallel Programming
  • OpenMP
  • Programming Graphics Multi processors
  • Programming the Cell Multi processor
  • Assignment on programming on the Cell Processor

Instructors

Dr. Aviral Shrivastava joined ASU in 2006, soon after receiving his Ph.D. from University of California, Irvine. Dr. Shrivastava is a well recognized expert in microarchitectures and compilers of embedded processors, with a focus on low-power computing. Dr. Shrivastava heads the Compiler-Microarchitecture Lab at ASU, with a mission to investigate novel compiler, microarchitectural and cooperative compiler-microarchitecture solutions to the challenges faced by embedded system designers and programmers.

Dr. Shrivastava has developed several novel schemes to reduce power consumption of embedded and high performance processors at both the hardware and software levels. His current research has 3 focuses, power-efficient multi-core computing, reliable software on unreliable hardware, and investigating Coarse-grain reconfigurable architectures. His research is funded by NSF, SFAz, Intel, Microsoft Research, and Raytheon Missile Systems.

Dr. Partha Dasgupta joined ASU in 1991. Prior to ASU, he had teaching appointments with Georgia Tech and New York University. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stony Brook University. Dr. Dasgupta's core areas of expertise are in, Operating Systems, Distributed Computing and Computer Security. He has been involved with concurrent and parallel programming research and teaching for most of his career. He has significant prior research results and publications in construction of distributed operating systems, high performance systems and secure computing infrastructures.

Dr. Dasgupta also has experience in industrial consulting, training course development and delivery. His research funding has primarily been from NSF and DARPA with smaller grants from Intel, Microsoft and the Consortium for Embedded Systems. He has 20 years of experience with operating systems and 8 years experience with security systems. He is an accomplished teacher and researcher of topics in computer security and distributed computing.

Who Should Attend

This course will be extremely relevant to all software programmers and computer architects. This course is also intended for professionals who seek to acquire the skill-set needed for the next decade. Soon most computing systems will be multi-cores, and multi-core programming will become an irreplaceable part of application development.

This course will provide a global view of the multi-core landscape, equip the student with the fundamentals of concurrent programming, and provide an overview of the main parallel programming paradigms. This course will provide hands-on programming experience on the cell processor to solidify and situate the learning and provide immediately usable skill.

About the ASU School of Computing and Informatics

The School of Computing and Informatics (SCI) at Arizona State University (ASU) is home to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and the Department of Biomedical Informatics (BMI). The school supports the evolution of computing and informatics as discrete disciplines and responds to the need for partnership and collaboration between computer and information sciences and a broad range of disciplinary areas at ASU. Learn more about SCI.

Registration, Refunds and Cancellations

The registration fees for Engineering Global Outreach & Extended Education courses held at Arizona State University include instruction, handouts, refreshment breaks and meals as noted in the schedules found in the course schedule (agenda). Hotel accommodations are not included.

Fees may be paid by check, money order or purchase order. Please make all remittances payable, in U.S. funds, to Arizona State University. Payments by VISA, MasterCard and American Express also are accepted. Seating at the course is limited. Fax or e-mail the enrollment form as soon as possible to assure your space, even though payment may come later. Do not rely on your buyer or business office to send the form. Putting the enrollment form in the U.S. mail is only necessary if you will be enclosing a check or purchase order form. A confirmation letter will be faxed or mailed to you shortly after receipt of your enrollment.

Should you register and then need to cancel, please note that there is a cancellation fee. The rate of the fee is determined by how far in advance of the program/module start date the written request for cancellation is received by Global Outreach & Extended Education (please see below). Written requests for cancellation may be received via either mail or fax.

  • Four or more weeks prior - 10% of program fee
  • Three weeks prior - 50% of program fee
  • Within two weeks - 75% of program fee

Transfer to another program or module is subject to a $250 administrative fee if made within six weeks of the program/module start date. Registrants who do not attend and do not cancel are subject to the complete fee. Participant substitutes may be made by submitting in advance a written request. We reserve the right to change instructors or cancel or reschedule a program in the event of insufficient enrollment or unforeseen circumstances.

Register

Register for this course

This course is one of many courses part of the CSE Summer Series.

For more information contact:

Octavio Heredia
Associate Director, Extended Education
asu.cpd@asu.edu