Graphical views of parallel programs

Large, parallel application programs are difficult to design and to implement . On e difficulty is the potential complexity of the interactions among the large number o f separable components in such programs . In this paper, a relational approach t o maintaining and visualizing such components and their interactions is explored . Specifically, we develop a system with which programmers can construct and display multiple, complementary or alternative views of a single parallel program usin g a uniform program model and a single set of primitives for view construction an d manipulation . Two sample alternative views of a program may display its communication structures or the data flow among its components . A sample view tha t complements the display of communication structures is one that describes th e detailed attributes of a communicating component . The program visualization system described is implemented using the Ingres relational database running on a VAX llj 180TM and a SUNTM workstation .