Lesson plan

Program Composition Notation

Program Composition Notation (PCN) is a specification notation for building up larger programs from smaller modules or programs (usually written in C or Fortran). Efficient parallel programming is at the heart of PCN. Larger composed programs are intended to execute efficiently on single-processor machines, multiprocessors with shared memory or distributed multicomputers. PCN was developed at Argonne National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology. PCN includes the language for specifying concurrent algorithms and interfaces to C and Fortran. There is also a PCN toolkit for workstations that allows applications to be developed for supercomputers which includes debugging and performance analysis tools. PCN is appropriate for applications benefiting from parallel computing such as fluid dynamics, and climate modelling.

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Article summary

Program Composition Notation (PCN) is a specification notation for building up larger programs from smaller modules or programs (usually written in C or Fortran). Efficient parallel programming is at the heart of PCN. Larger composed programs are intended to execute efficiently on single-processor machines, multiprocessors with shared memory or distributed multicomputers. PCN was developed at Argonne National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology. PCN includes the language for specifying concurrent algorithms and interfaces to C and Fortran. There is also a PCN toolkit for workstations that allows applications to be developed for supercomputers which includes debugging and performance analysis tools. PCN is appropriate for applications benefiting from parallel computing such as fluid dynamics, and climate modelling.

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.