[CfP] Special Issue on SEMANTICS AND COST MODELS FOR HIGH-LEVEL PARALLEL PROGRAMMING

[F. Loulergue]

[Please accept our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this CFP]

-------------------------------------------------------
                1st CALL FOR PAPERS
                  Special Issue on

              SEMANTICS AND COST MODELS 
         FOR HIGH-LEVEL PARALLEL PROGRAMMING 
to appear in Computer Languages, Systems and Structures 

           http://f.loulergue.free.fr/CLSS
-------------------------------------------------------

AIMS AND SCOPE

Many applications of computing require performance levels attainable
only on parallel architectures. Such systems are now readily available
as their price/performance ratio continues to improve. The rapid
development of affordable hardware for parallel computing makes the
need to develop high-quality parallel software increasingly urgent.

Sequential programming has long benefited from high-level programming
techniques and tools that have made today's immense range of software
economically viable. Two decades of research into high-level parallel
programming has produced methods and tools that improve the
price/performance ratio of parallel software, and broaden the range of
target applications.

GRIDs offer tremendous computing power. Nevertheless, this power is
far from being effectively exploited. In addition to technical
problems related to portability and access, Grid computing needs new
programming paradigms. Research on high-level grid programming is
particularly relevant.

Expressivity and ease of use are not the only concerns of high-level
parallel languages. Languages based on formal semantics allow one to
prove the correctness of programs, to refine programs, etc. One can
also have more confidence in the safety of the programming and
execution environments by proving the correctness of compilation, the
correctness of lower-level semantics (e.g. abstract machines) with
respect to the high-level semantics, etc.

These concerns are shared by sequential languages. In parallel
programming the need for performance prediction is especially
great. For parallel programming, one must use an efficient parallel
algorithm right from the start; very often this has little to do with
the corresponding sequential algorithm. Thus cost models are needed to
allow discrimination between efficient and inefficient parallel
algorithms. Such models must be sufficiently simple, abstract, and
closely related to the source code to allow the programmer to
understand which aspects of the algorithm must be modified to improve
efficiency.

TOPICS

We welcome submission of original, unpublished papers in English on
topics including:

o Parallel language design and implementation based on semantics
o Semantics and/or cost models of algorithmic skeletons and parallel
  libraries
o Semantics and/or cost models of programming languages for GRID
  computing
o Proofs of correctness of high-level parallel programs
o Refinement of high-level parallel programs
o Parallel program design and optimization based on cost models
o Experimental results which validate cost models

PAPER SUBMISSION

Prospective authors are invited to submit full papers in English
presenting original research. Submitted papers must be unpublished and
not submitted for publication elsewhere.

Papers will go through a rigorous reviewing process. Each paper will
be reviewed by the guest editor and researchers from the high-level
parallel programming community.

Papers should be sent to loulergue@univ-paris12.fr with subject "[CLSS
Special Issue] Submission" no later than Monday 3 November 2003. An
early email with your intention to submit a paper would be greatly
appreciated (especially if you have doubts about the relevance of your
paper).

FORMATTING INSTRUCTIONS

Formatting instructions for paper submissions will be available at:
http://f.loulergue.free.fr/CLSS

IMPORTANT DATES 

November 3, 2003: Full paper due 
January 15, 2003: Notification 
April 15, 2004:   Final version due 
Automn 2004:      Expected date of publication

GUEST EDITOR

Dr. Frederic LOULERGUE
Laboratory of Algorithms, Complexity and Logic (LACL)
University of Paris Val de Marne
61, avenue du General de Gaulle
F-94010 CRETEIL - FRANCE
loulergue@univ-paris12.fr