Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer
From: andyr@wizzy.com (Andy Rabagliati)
Subject: Re: C in an occam harness
Organization: W.Z.I.
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 1994 11:56:22 GMT
Message-ID: <Cont5z.3MC@wizzy.com>

In article <newmannd.36@aston.ac.uk>, N.D.NEWMAN <newmannd@aston.ac.uk> wrote:
>Hello all,
>	  I am a PhD student using the Transputer to do some complex 
>mathematical stuff, and I have a large number of C routines that I want to 
>incorporate into the occam code. Is it possible to compile a library of C 
>routines and then call these from a parallel occam program?

The basic problem (not insurmountable) is that C sometimes requires big
stacks and heaps, and that is a drag in parallel programming.

You can set off a C program with its own stack and heap space. You will
have to consult the manuals as to how. It may need to be at
configuration level.

You can then have it wait on channel(s) and 'serve' an occam program.
Then the C startup overhead is only invoked once. An understanding of
how the C program does its job will let you decide how much stack and
heap space the C program will require (perhaps NO heap space ??) and
thus how many you can run in parallel.

You can do the same with FORTRAN too, I believe.

Cheers,     Andy.

--
Andy Rabagliati  .  andyr@wizzy.com   .  W.Z.I. Consulting  .   (719)635-6099

