Issues

Having several parts of a system simultaneously perform different parts of a task is an old notion that is proving more and more useful in the design of powerful computers.

The astounding progress in microelectronics, which has fueled the rapid growth in computer performance, is finally beginning to approach fundamental physical limits; henceforth computer architecture will become more important.

A few general techniques allow many small computers to work together efficiently and attack computationally demanding problems in fields ranging from aerodynamics to astrophysics.

New applicative languages, based on mathematical functions rather than FORTRAN‐like statements, will enhance our ability to decompose problems for concurrent processing.

Supercomputers simply need supercompilers that automatically restructure programs for concurrent processing.