Memorandum 88363 & / / a 7 Concurrent Extensions to the FORTRAN Language for Parallel Programming of Com pu tat ional Fluid Dynamics Algorithms

Experiments were conducted at NASA Ames Research Center t o define multitasking software requirements for multiple-instruction, multiple-data stream (MIMD) computer architectures. The focus was on specifying solutions for algorithms in the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The program objectives were to allow researchers t o .produce useable parallel application software as soon as possible after acquiring MlMD computer equipment, t o provide researchers with an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use parallel software language which could be implemented on several different MIMD machines, and to enable researchers t o list preferred design specifications for future MIMD computer architectures. Analysis of C F D algorithms indicated that extensions of an existing programming language, that are adaptable to new computer architectures, provided the best solution t o meeting program objectives. The CoFortran Language was written in response to these objectives and to provide researchers a means to experiment with parallel software solutions to CFD algorithms on machines with parallel architectures.