Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!eagle!amelia!wilbur.nas.nasa.gov!eugene From: eugene@wilbur.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Multiprocessing in your own PC lab Message-ID: <5926@amelia.nas.nasa.gov> Date: 2 May 90 21:49:09 GMT References: <0093608E.3DCAF480@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> Sender: news@amelia.nas.nasa.gov Reply-To: eugene@wilbur.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya) Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Lines: 14 Clue: The best way to answer this is to note that if it were this easy, it would have been done by now. Some problems and particular algorithms: it is possible and easy. For problems of general interest the answer is NO. Part of the problem lies in software, another part in algorithms. There is a vast body of literature on why it will and why this won't work. Hypercubes are part of the PC approach. But the software ain't there yet, and may never be. Throwing more hardware onto an already "slow" problem can make it slower. --e. nobuo miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@orville.nas.nasa.gov {uunet,mailrus,other gateways}!ames!eugene