Abstract

Zipcode is a high-level message passing system that was initially designed for multicomputers and homogeneous networks of computers. We detail the special features of Zipcode, and mention how the system has evolved over the last five years. One unique aspect of Zipcode is its support of mailer objects (process groups plus communication contexts) coupled with virtual toplogies (families of mailers with abtracted naming of processes). Furthermore, the evolutionary process has brought the additional capability of "gather-send" and "receive-scatter" semantics, based on Zipcode "invoices," both as a means to simplify message passing, and as a means to reveal more runtime optimizations. All of these features are seen as enablers for parallel library development, and, more generally, "scalable software." We mention how Zipcode has evolved to place mailer-wide scoping for the methods that define communication. We indicate how the fully heterogeneous environment is addressed from a messagepassi...

Citations