Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!dog.ee.lbl.gov!nosc!watop!frost From: frost@watop.nosc.mil (Richard Frost) Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer Subject: Re: Who Wants Massively Parallel Processors Anyway? Message-ID: Date: 4 Mar 91 06:46:55 GMT References: <3672@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP> <66231@brunix.UUCP> <9102271454.AA10080@NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL> Sender: nobody@nosc.NOSC.MIL Lines: 40 Jeff Carroll (carroll@ssc-vax.boeing.com) writes: > I think there are two kinds of people who use transputers. > One is the computer scientist who is doing research on parallel > systems, and the other is the scientist or engineer whose > number-crunching application takes too long to run on his PC. Some of use want them because our number-crunching applications take too long on a Cray YMP or its simply more cost effective to use a large transputer network for an inherently parallel application. (Never mind that a 25-33MHz PC or Mac outperforms a VAX ;-) moses@NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL (Bill Moses) writes: >Who wants massively parallel machines anyhow? >What are the foreseen uses of large parallel machines? Digital signal processing: Specifically at my site--a proposed application is the identification of dim incoming hostile targets (e.g. Exocet missles). Another application was proposed at CERN to detect weak particle signatures. Some image-processing applications are better suited for transputers or MIMD in general. Real-time non-linear controls for many dynamic systems including municipal traffic control are possible with parallel machines. Numerical Analysis: The folks at Los Alamos and elsewhere have been busy re-writing the book for parallel architectures. Check recent SIAM proceedings. Symbolic Analysis: The nth order hyper-foobar expansion of f(x,y,z). Soliton or wavelet solutions to the general case of Maxwell's equations => goodby to ray-tracing. Combinitorics/Graph Theory: Transportation and Network optimization, and of course the TSP. Others will undoubtably contribute more ... -- (Note: please e-mail directly as the mail header "From:" line is broken) Richard Frost Naval Ocean Systems Center frost@watop.nosc.mil voice: 619-553-6960