Parallel and Distributed Computing in CS2013 Mehran Sahami Computer Science Department Stanford University

Outline Overview of CS2013 –CS2013 charter and contents –Parallel and Distributed Computing in CS2013 Details of Parallel and Distributed Computing in CS2013 –Overview of Knowledge Area –Examples of topical guidelines –Examples of learning outcomes –“CS in Parallel” exemplar modules Dissemination

CS2013 Charter To review the Joint ACM and IEEE/CS Computer Science volume of Computing Curricula 2001 and the accompanying interim review CS 2008, and develop a revised and enhanced version for the year 2013 that will match the latest developments in the discipline and have lasting impact. The CS2013 task force will seek input from a diverse audience with the goal of broadening participation in computer science. The report will seek to be international in scope and offer curricular and pedagogical guidance applicable to a wide range of institutions. The process of producing the final report will include multiple opportunities for public consultation and scrutiny.

CS2013 Contents Chapter 1:Introduction Chapter 2:Principles Chapter 3:Characteristics of Graduates Chapter 4:Introduction to the Body of Knowledge Chapter 5:Introductory Courses Chapter 6:Institutional Challenges Appendix A:The Body of Knowledge Appendix B:Migrating Curricula to CS2013 Appendix C:Course Exemplars Appendix DCurricular Exemplars 514 pages total

Where Parallel/Distributed Computing Exists Chapter 1:Introduction Chapter 2:Principles Chapter 3:Characteristics of Graduates Chapter 4:Introduction to the Body of Knowledge Chapter 5:Introductory Courses Chapter 6:Institutional Challenges Appendix A:The Body of Knowledge Appendix B:Migrating Curricula to CS2013 Appendix C:Course Exemplars Appendix DCurricular Exemplars 514 pages total

PD as a New Knowledge Area Two new Knowledge Areas in CS2013 –Based on over 200 department chair’s survey response Information Assurance and Security –Most important new area to based on survey of dept. chairs Parallel and Distributed Computing –Second most important new area tbased on survey of chairs Includes additional core curricular hours

Curricular Organization Three-tiered classification of Body of Knowledge topics –Core-Tier1: essential topics, all of which are required for an undergraduate CS program –Core-Tier2: important foundational topics, the vast majority (at least 80%) of which should be in a CS program Still considered “Core” topics – ideally all Tier2 topics would be included in an undergraduate program, if possible Tiering allows for flexibility to locally customize curricula –Elective: additional topics that can be included to complete an undergraduate CS program Covering just “core” material is insufficient for a complete curriculum

Details of PD Knowledge Area Parallel and Distributed Computing (PD) The past decade has brought explosive growth in multiprocessor computing, including multi-core processors and distributed data centers. As a result, parallel and distributed computing has moved from a largely elective topic to become more of a core component… Core-Tier1 hoursCore-Tier2 hoursIncludes Electives PD/Parallelism Fundamentals2N PD/Parallel Decomposition13N PD/Communication and Coordination 13Y PD/Parallel Algorithms, Analysis, and Programming 3Y PD/Parallel Architecture11Y PD/Parallel PerformanceY PD/Distributed SystemsY PD/Cloud ComputingY PD/Formal Models and SemanticsY PD. Parallel and Distributed Computing (5 Core-Tier1 hours, 10 Core-Tier2 hours)

Example of Knowledge Unit (Topics) PD/Communication and Coordination [1 Core-Tier1 hour, 3 Core-Tier2 hours] (Cross-reference OS/Concurrency for mechanism implementation issues.) Topics: [Core-Tier1] Shared Memory Consistency, and its role in programming language guarantees for data-race-free programs [Core-Tier2] Message passing o Point-to-point versus multicast (or event-based) messages o Blocking versus non-blocking styles for sending and receiving messages o Message buffering (cross-reference SDF/Fundamental Data Structures/Queues) Atomicity … [Elective] Consensus o (Cyclic) barriers, counters, or related constructs …

Example Learning Outcomes [Core-Tier1] 1.Use mutual exclusion to avoid a given race condition [Usage] 2.Give an example of an ordering of accesses among concurrent activities that is not sequentially consistent [Familiarity] [Core-Tier2] 3.Give an example of a scenario in which blocking message sends can deadlock. [Usage] 4.Explain when and why multicast or event-based messaging can be preferable to alternatives [Familiarity] … [Elective] 12.Use semaphores or condition variables to block threads until a necessary precondition holds [Usage]

“CS in Parallel” Exemplar in CS2013 #Module NameAuthor(s) 1Map-reduce Computing for Introductory Students using WebMapReduce Dick Brown and Libby Shoop 2Multicore Programming (3 versions) Dick Brown and Libby Shoop 3Concurrent Access to Data Structures (2 versions) Libby Shoop, Dick Brown and Patrick Garrity 4Parallel Computing ConceptsDick Brown 5Parallel SortingLibby Shoop 6Concurrency and Map-Reduce Strategies in Various Programming LanguagesDick Brown 7Patternlets in Parallel ProgrammingJoel Adams 8GPU Programming Libby Shoop and Yu Zhao 9Heterogeneous ComputingLibby Shoop 10Distributed Computing FundamentalsLibby Shoop 11Pi Calculus: A Theory of Message PassingDick Brown 12Exemplar: Drug DesignDick Brown 13Exemplar: Computing Pi using Numerical Integration Dick Brown and EAPF 14An Advanced Introduction to Map-reduce using WebMapReduceDick Brown CSinParallel Modules

Dissemination Website: cs2013.org –Dissemination of final report –Also available on ACM and IEEE-CS websites You have CS2013 in your SIGCSE bag! –USB Drive contains CS2013 PDF file