A parallel functional database on GRIP
- G Akerholt ,
- K Hammond ,
- SL Peyton Jones ,
- P Trinder ,
- Simon Peyton Jones
Proc Workshop on the Parallel Implementation of Functional Languages, Southampton |
CSTR 91-07, Department of Computer Science, University of Southampton
GRIP is a shared-memory multiprocessor designed for efficient parallel evaluation of functional languages, using compiled graph reduction. This paper investigates the feasibility of processing persistent data on GRIP, and presents results obtained from a pilot implementation. A database implemented in a pure functional language must be modified non-destructively, i.e. the original database must be preserved and a new copy constructed. The naive implementation provides evidence for the feasibility of data processing in the form of modest real-time speed-ups, and acceptable real-time performance. The functional database is also used to investigate the GRIP architecture, compared with an idealised machine. The particular features investigated are the thread-creation costs and caching of GRIP’s distributed memory.