limits on speculative module-level parallelism in imperative and object-oriented programs on cmp platforms
Abstract: This paper considers program modules, e.g. procedures, functions, and methods as the basic method to exploit speculative parallelism in existing codes. We analyze how much inherent and exploitable parallelism exist in a set of C and Java programs on a set of chip-multiprocessor architecture models, and identify what inherent program features, as well as architectural deficiencies, that limit the speedup. Our data complement previous limit studies by indicating that the programming style - object-oriented versus imperative - does not seem to have any noticeable impact on the achievable speedup. Further, we show that as few as eight processors are enough to exploit all of the inherent parallelism. However, memory-level data dependence resolution and thread management mechanisms of recent CMP proposals may impose overheads that severely limit the speedup obtained.
speculating module parallel object-oriented program platform abstraction paper procedure method exploit processor architecture model feature speedup data data dependence thread management chip multiprocessors memorialized