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Logic programs and an experimental architecture for their execution
If a computer system contains peripheral devices that perform direct memory access (DMA) by 'stealing' memory cycles from the CPU, it becomes difficult to specify task run times accurately. This is a drawback for realtime environments, where it is necessary to determine run times in advance to guarantee short reaction times. The author describes some DMA methods which do not use cycle stealing and which overcome the problem.
Software Anderson, B R 'MODULA-2: a 68000 cross assembler Parts 1 and 2' Dr Dobbs J. Software Tools Vol 11 No 4 (April 1986) p 52 and Vol 11 No 5 (May 1986) p 4 4
Oldfield, l V 'Logic programs and an experimental architecture for their execution' lEE Proc. E Vol 133 No 3 (May 1986) pp 163-167 Only recently have languages for logic and functional programming become prominent, says Oldfield. Although these programs are presently executed on conventional 'Von Neumann' computers, the way in which they are executed is unusual, providing scope for new hardware architectures. The paper illustrates the distinctive features of logic programming and shows how execution can be speeded up by using concurrency at differing levels of implementation.
Sonnenschein, M 'An extension of the language c for concurrent programming' Parallel CompuL Vol 3 No 1 (March 1986) pp 59-71
Djavaheri, M and Osborne, S 'MODULA-2: an alternative to c for system programming' I. Pascal, Ada, Modula-2 Vol 5 No 3 (May/June 1986) pp 47-52
A number of MODULA-2 implementations now exist for Unix systems. The paper contrasts MODULA-2 with PASCAL and C, and discusses its implementation for the MC68000/ Unix environment.
EI-Dessouki, O, Huen, W and Evens, M 'Optimal partitioning of sequential jobs on a network computer' J. VLSI CompuL Syst. Vol 1 No 4 pp 377397 Partitioning is one of the central problems of software design for distributed systems. The partitioning problem is to find suitable algorithms for dividing software to achieve load balancing, faster execution and smaller communication overhead. The paper considers partitioning sequential jobs to run on a network of processors.
Marshall, J L and Goldstein, R D 'Software engineering in MODULA-2: implementing the GPIB (IEEE488) in a laboratory' J. Pascal, Ada, Modula-2 Vol 5 No 3 (May/June 1986) pp 28-46
vol 10 no 7 september 1986
Wegmann, A 'Object-orientated programming using MODULA-2' J. Pascal, Ada, Modula-2 Vol 5 No 3 (May/June 1986) pp 5-17 Object-oriented languages were developed as a new approach to program ming. Rather than splitting a program into data and procedures, the program is divided into objects a.nd messages. The objects are the components of the system and the messages define the interaction between the objects. The paper shows how the object-orientated concepts can be used in MODULA-2.
VLSI Lea, R M 'VLSI and WSI associative string processors for structured data processing' lEE Proc. E Vol 133 No 3 (May 1986) pp 153-162
Sayers, I L, Kinniment, D J and Chester, E G 'Design of a reliable and self-testing VLSI datapath using residue coding techniques' lEE Proc. E Vol 133 No 3 (May 1986) pp 169-179
Books received These books have been received recently by the EditorialOffice. They may be reviewed in later issues. Ammeraal, L 'Programming principles in computer graphics' John Wiley (1986) £11.50, pp 176 AT&T "The Unix system user's handbook" Prentice-Hall (1986) £14.74, pp 98 "The Unix system user's manual' Prentice-Hall (1986) £32.05, pp 646 Bose, S l "Digital systems: from gates to microprocessors' John Wiley (1986) £12.95, pp 424 Carr, l J "Single-board computer applications" Tab Books (1986) $16.95, pp 271 Hobbyists' source book that shows how to interface 6502 or Z80-based micros, or commercial micros, to I/O devices, keyboards, displays and communications systems. Hammond, l L and O'Reilly, P J P 'Performance analysis of local computer networks" Addison-Wesley (1986) £21.95, pp 426 Jenkins, R A 'Supercomputers of today and tomorrow; the parallel processing revolution" Tab Books (1986) $16.95, pp 222 According to the publishers, this is 'a view of future technology from the birth of modern computer science to the development of today's most advanced fifth generation computers'. The book is a journalist's account of the current 'technological breakthroughs' in computing - - with sections on parallelism, artificial intelligence, expert systems and computervision -- and the expected impact of these developments in science and industry.
Miczo, A 'Digital logic testing and simulation" Harper and Row (1986) £24.95, pp 428 399
Software Anderson, B R 'MODULA-2: a 68000 cross assembler Parts 1 and 2' Dr Dobbs J. Software Tools Vol 11 No 4 (April 1986) p 52 and Vol 11 No 5 (May 1986) p 4 4
Oldfield, l V 'Logic programs and an experimental architecture for their execution' lEE Proc. E Vol 133 No 3 (May 1986) pp 163-167 Only recently have languages for logic and functional programming become prominent, says Oldfield. Although these programs are presently executed on conventional 'Von Neumann' computers, the way in which they are executed is unusual, providing scope for new hardware architectures. The paper illustrates the distinctive features of logic programming and shows how execution can be speeded up by using concurrency at differing levels of implementation.
Sonnenschein, M 'An extension of the language c for concurrent programming' Parallel CompuL Vol 3 No 1 (March 1986) pp 59-71
Djavaheri, M and Osborne, S 'MODULA-2: an alternative to c for system programming' I. Pascal, Ada, Modula-2 Vol 5 No 3 (May/June 1986) pp 47-52
A number of MODULA-2 implementations now exist for Unix systems. The paper contrasts MODULA-2 with PASCAL and C, and discusses its implementation for the MC68000/ Unix environment.
EI-Dessouki, O, Huen, W and Evens, M 'Optimal partitioning of sequential jobs on a network computer' J. VLSI CompuL Syst. Vol 1 No 4 pp 377397 Partitioning is one of the central problems of software design for distributed systems. The partitioning problem is to find suitable algorithms for dividing software to achieve load balancing, faster execution and smaller communication overhead. The paper considers partitioning sequential jobs to run on a network of processors.
Marshall, J L and Goldstein, R D 'Software engineering in MODULA-2: implementing the GPIB (IEEE488) in a laboratory' J. Pascal, Ada, Modula-2 Vol 5 No 3 (May/June 1986) pp 28-46
vol 10 no 7 september 1986
Wegmann, A 'Object-orientated programming using MODULA-2' J. Pascal, Ada, Modula-2 Vol 5 No 3 (May/June 1986) pp 5-17 Object-oriented languages were developed as a new approach to program ming. Rather than splitting a program into data and procedures, the program is divided into objects a.nd messages. The objects are the components of the system and the messages define the interaction between the objects. The paper shows how the object-orientated concepts can be used in MODULA-2.
VLSI Lea, R M 'VLSI and WSI associative string processors for structured data processing' lEE Proc. E Vol 133 No 3 (May 1986) pp 153-162
Sayers, I L, Kinniment, D J and Chester, E G 'Design of a reliable and self-testing VLSI datapath using residue coding techniques' lEE Proc. E Vol 133 No 3 (May 1986) pp 169-179
Books received These books have been received recently by the EditorialOffice. They may be reviewed in later issues. Ammeraal, L 'Programming principles in computer graphics' John Wiley (1986) £11.50, pp 176 AT&T "The Unix system user's handbook" Prentice-Hall (1986) £14.74, pp 98 "The Unix system user's manual' Prentice-Hall (1986) £32.05, pp 646 Bose, S l "Digital systems: from gates to microprocessors' John Wiley (1986) £12.95, pp 424 Carr, l J "Single-board computer applications" Tab Books (1986) $16.95, pp 271 Hobbyists' source book that shows how to interface 6502 or Z80-based micros, or commercial micros, to I/O devices, keyboards, displays and communications systems. Hammond, l L and O'Reilly, P J P 'Performance analysis of local computer networks" Addison-Wesley (1986) £21.95, pp 426 Jenkins, R A 'Supercomputers of today and tomorrow; the parallel processing revolution" Tab Books (1986) $16.95, pp 222 According to the publishers, this is 'a view of future technology from the birth of modern computer science to the development of today's most advanced fifth generation computers'. The book is a journalist's account of the current 'technological breakthroughs' in computing - - with sections on parallelism, artificial intelligence, expert systems and computervision -- and the expected impact of these developments in science and industry.
Miczo, A 'Digital logic testing and simulation" Harper and Row (1986) £24.95, pp 428 399