Newsgroups: comp.parallel.pvm
From: caffey@jasper.CS.ORST.EDU (Hugh Caffey)
Subject: Calling all parallel programmers ...
Organization: Computer Science Department, Oregon State University
Date: 18 Apr 1995 17:22:22 GMT
Message-ID: <3n0sge$h1d@engr.orst.edu>
		
               ATTENTION Parallel Application Programmers!

  Is your main debugging "tool" PRINT or printf?  Do you find dbx only (and
  marginally) useful for checking core files to find where your program
  bombed?  Is your performance analysis limited by the headaches and
  uncertainty of using non-portable timers of questionable reliability?
  Does it seem like the software tools you've seen and tried to use for
  parallel work were designed more for other tool developers to admire
  than for end-user programmers to actually *use*?  Does it seem like the
  best "tool" for developing correct, efficient parallel programs is simply
  a correct, efficient *serial* program?  Or do you actually have a
  sophisticated and useful set of parallel software tools but wish that they
  were available on more than just one system?
 
  Are you generally frustrated by the lack of robust, widespread and genuinely
  useful tools for developing, debugging and tuning large-scale parallel
  programs?  When you consider how many tool developers there are and how many
  end-user programmers there are, does it seem like a tiny tail has been
  wagging a huge dog?  Are you part of the Silent Majority of real end-user
  programmers who never get the opportunity to explain what's *really* needed?

  The Parallel Tools Consortium was formed in late 1993 to address exactly
  these issues.  The group consists of real users and real developers who
  actually talk to each other and who are completing the development of the
  first 100% user-specified tools.  We have found that, in apparent departure
  from past practice, developers - some from academia, others from the major
  HPC vendors (Convex, HP, IBM, Intel, Meiko, SGI, etc.) and the government -
  are actually very open to end-users' needs and opinions.

  We strongly encourage you to attend the second annual 2.5 day meeting
  sponsored by the non-profit consortium.  The meeting is designed to get
  tool developers and real end-user programmers together in a forum where real
  users tell the actual tool developers *directly* what does and doesn't work
  for them and why.  To minimize the hype, marketing types are discouraged from
  attending; there will be no vendor representatives to "interpret" what you
  tell them for their own tool developers.  You'll also be able to see and
  comment on the tools that we have already built and talk to the people who
  actually built them.  You won't be able to buy these tools because their
  prototypes are public domain, i.e. free.

  If you'd like a say in the sorts of software tools for parallelism you'll be
  seeing soon, read the official announcement below and plan to come to sunny
  California in May!
 
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                   CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
              (with registration information)

                 Parallel Tools Consortium
               Second Annual General Meeting
                      May 22-24, 1995
                 NASA Ames Research Center
               Moffett Field, California, USA


Hosted by Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Systems
Division, NASA Ames Research Center.

Users, developers, and vendors of tools for parallel
computers are invited to participate in the Parallel Tools
(Ptools) Consortium's second annual meeting.  The consortium
offers a forum for an exchange of ideas on improving the
usability of parallel tools.  It was established in response
to past concerns that parallel tool developers are working
in isolation from the user community.

The consortium also establishes groups to work on new tool
projects that:

        - respond to demonstrable user needs
        - involve vendors, researchers, and users
        - create tools that behave consistently across
          multiple platforms
        - produce public-domain prototypes

Five Ptools projects are currently underway or have already
been completed.  Membership in the Ptools Consortium is open
to anyone interested in parallel programming tools.  For
more information about the consortium, see the URL:
http://www.llnl.gov/ptools/ptools.html .

This year's annual meeting will feature presentations on
current projects within the consortium, standardization
efforts in parallel computing (such as MPI and HPF), and
sources of parallel software.  Tool developers and
researchers will present posters and demos on their current
projects, and discussion sessions will address a number of
topics of interest to parallel tool users and developers.


Who Should Attend
-----------------

Anyone interested in better software support for parallel
computing is encouraged to attend.  This includes tool users
and developers from national laboratories, supercomputing
centers, universities, computer manufacturers, software
vendors, and industrial and government sites involved in
parallel computing.  The consortium is particularly eager to
involve users who are willing to discuss their requirements
for software tools.


Preliminary Agenda
------------------

Day 1 -- Monday, May 22, 1995

1:00 - 1:30     Welcome
1:30 - 2:00     Ptools 1994 activities

                Reports on completed Ptools projects
2:00 - 2:30     Lightweight corefile browser
2:30 - 3:00     Message queue manager
3:00 - 3:30     Scalable Unix tools

3:30 - 4:30     Break, poster preparation time

4:30 - 6:30     Reception, demos, and poster session

                Dinner (on own)

Day 2 -- Tuesday, May 23, 1995

8:30 - 9:30     Invited speaker: Chuck Leith, Lawrence
                Livermore Nat'l Lab "A User's Perspective on
                High-Performance Computing"

9:30 - 10:00    Break

10:00 - 11:15   Standardization efforts in parallel computing
                High-Performance Fortran (HPF)
                Message-Passing Interface (MPI)
                Portable Software Tools for Parallel
                Architectures (PSTPA)

11:15 - 11:30   Planning for afternoon breakout sessions

11:30 - 1:00    Lunch (on own)

1:00 - 2:30     Breakout sessions in parallel
                On-going Ptools projects and other topics TBA

2:30 - 2:45     Break

2:45 - 4:15     Breakout sessions in parallel

4:15 - 4:30     Break
4:30 - 5:30     Invited speaker: Jack Dongarra, Oak Ridge
                Nat'l Lab and University of Tennessee,
                Knoxville "The High Performance Software
                Exchange"

5:30 - 6:00     Break

6:00 - 8:00     Reception

                Dinner (on own)

Day 3 -- Wednesday, May 24, 1995

8:30 - 10:30    Panel discussion:  "Harnessing the Expertise
                of Meta-users"

10:00 - 10:30   Break

10:30 - 11:30   Reports from breakout sessions
11:30 - 11:45   Wrap-up


Please note that the meeting begins and ends at mid-day to
permit travel to and from the site on the same days as the
meeting.  NASA CANNOT ADMIT EARLY ARRIVALS TO THE SITE ON
MONDAY.


The meeting site
----------------

NASA Ames Research Center is at Moffett Field, California, USA,
in the San Francisco Bay Area.  San Jose International Airport 
is the nearest major airport, and both San Francisco and 
Oakland are reasonable alternatives.

Directions:

Going North on 101 (from the San Jose area): Take the
Moffett Field exit.

Going South on 101 (from the San Francisco area): Take the
Moffett Field (NOT the Moffett Blvd.) exit.

Turn left BEFORE the main Navy gates.  The very first
building on the right (a small, one-story building behind
cyclone fencing) is the Pass & ID/Badging Office.  You must
stop here to obtain a pass for yourself and your vehicle.
Representatives from Ptools will direct you to the meeting
from there.


Accommodations
-------------

We have reserved blocks of rooms at two hotels near the
meeting site.  The County Inn is located across US Highway
101 from NASA Ames; it is about ten minutes' walk from the
main gate.  The Sundowner Inn is a few miles southeast of
NASA on Highway 101 and is not within walking distance.
Rates at both locations are $75/night for a single room,
including breakfast, and RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BY APRIL
22 for this rate to apply.  As rooms are limited at both
hotels, we suggest you book early.  Call the hotel directly,
and be sure to mention the Parallel Tools Consortium to get
the discounted rate.

        County Inn
        850 Leong Drive (corner of Moffett Blvd.)
        Mountain View, CA 94043
        (800) 828-1132, (415) 961-1131
        fax: (415) 965-9099

        Sundowner Inn
        504 Ross Drive (corner of Mathilda)
        Sunnyvale, CA 94089
        (800) 223-9901, (408) 734-9900
        fax: (408) 747-0580

Participants are responsible for their own transportation
from their hotel to the meeting site.


Registration
------------

The fee for attendance at the meeting and the receptions is
$100.

We must receive registration form and payment by May 1 for
U.S. citizens and April 15 for non-U.S. citizens.  No
registrations will be accepted on-site.

Direct general questions about the meeting to:

        John May
        (510) 423-8102
        johnmay@llnl.gov

Foreign nationals:  NASA Ames requires extra time to process
your access approval.  You must bring your passport or Green
Card to the meeting site.  The registration deadline for
non-U.S. citizens is April 15.  If you are not a permanent
resident of the U.S., you must include the following
additional information on your registration form:  your full
name; date of birth; organizational affiliation;
citizenship; passport number; date and place of passport
issue; and the expiration date of your passport.



                 --- Registration form ---

                 Parallel Tools Consortium
                   Second General Meeting
    NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
                      May 22-24, 1995


(Please type or print)

Name:
         (Last, First, Middle)            (Name for badge)

Organization:

Address:

Phone:                          Fax:

Email:

List any special needs (dietary or other):



Nationality (check one):
  __ U.S. citizen
  __ Non-U.S. citizen, Permanent Resident status (must bring
     Green Card)
  __ Foreign National (must bring passport)

Additional information for non-U.S. citizens:


        Date of birth:

        Citizenship:

        Passport number:

        Date of issue:

        Place of issue:

        Date of expiration:


Registration fee is $100 (U.S. dollars); make checks payable
to Oregon State University Foundation, with a memo "Parallel
Tools Consortium".

Send registration and payment to:

        Matt Killinger
        Department of Computer Science
        Oregon State University
        Dearborn Hall 304
        Corvallis, OR  97331-3202

        email: killinm@research.cs.orst.edu
        fax: (503) 737-3014


