Parallel programming is a type of computation in which many calculations or processes are carried out simultaneously. It involves breaking down large problems into smaller ones that can be solved at the same time. Parallel programming is critical for large-scale projects that require speed and accuracy, and it allows developers, researchers, and users to accomplish research and analysis quicker than with a program that can only process one task at a time.
Parallel programming works by dividing a problem into independent parts so that each processing element can execute its part of the algorithm simultaneously with the others. The processing elements can be diverse and include resources such as a single computer with multiple processors, several networked computers, specialized hardware, or any combination of the above.
Parallel programming is often used interchangeably with the terms parallel processing or parallel computing, which refers to the systems that enable the high efficiency of parallel programming. There are different types of parallelism, including:
- Bit-level parallelism: This is when multiple bits are processed simultaneously.
- Instruction-level parallelism: This is when multiple instructions are executed simultaneously.
- Task parallelism: This is when a task is divided into subtasks and each subtask is executed concurrently.
- Data-level parallelism: This is when instructions from a single stream operate concurrently on several data.
Parallel programming is different from concurrent programming, which involves multiple tasks that cooperate closely to solve a problem. In parallel programming, tasks are parallelized so that they can be run at the same time by using multiple computers or multiple cores within a CPU.
Parallel programming is a complex task, but it allows developers, researchers, and users to accomplish research and analysis quicker than with a program that can only process one task at a time. It is used in various fields, including weather simulations, vaccine development, and astrophysics research.
