Rice receives grant for compiler research

By Josh Rutenberg     4/16/09 7:00pm

A team of Rice scientists are a chip off the old block, or rather, their work will be. Five Rice professors received a $16 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for their research on improving the efficiency of programs running on processors. Comprised of specialists spanning various sectors in the fields of computer science and probability and statistics, five Rice scientists have come together to work on the platform-aware compilation project, also called the PACE project. Computer systems, including ones found in iPhones and other cell phones, use compilers to translate human phrases and code into binary zeroes and ones that a machine can operate on, computer science professor Krishna Palem said.

The project aims to make heterogeneous machines, those that can only run certain combinations of programs, more efficient. The team plans to accomplish this task through the use of what is called "parallel computing," which breaks a large task into smaller, simultaneously computed tasks, rather than the current system of having individual vendors fine-tune software to match their hardware, Palem said. Parallel computing would allow a compiler to translate the software as if one vendor had made them all.

"[In] every element of what a compiler can do, there is a world expert at Rice," Palem said. "I am personally excited about probabilistic approximation learning."

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Probabilistic approximation learning is the set of tools that allow software to evolve and learn. This information is then given to the compiler, Palem said. He said that no compiler in existence today uses probabilistic approximation learning.

The PACE project formally began last March when Palem, along with Professors Keith Cooper, John Mellor-Crummey, Linda Torczon and Vivek Sakar brought compiler knowledge from their individual backgrounds together to form a team to approach the task of developing a working compiler.

The DARPA grant is funded by the United States Department of Defense. While the technology has straightforward uses for defense, it could also have potential for other uses.

"All of these technologies ultimately have civilian uses," Palem said. "Google searches are well suited for massive parallelism."

Palem also noted that the PACE project would have substantial value for research education.

"We may see many generations of future students benefitting," Palem said. "The mix [of specializations needed] brings together very interesting opportunities for education.

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