Beauty of supercomputing

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: programme multiple processors are quite primitive compared to desktop programming tools. What we need are tools that increase programmer productivity, and efforts in that direction have given us the Star-P environment by Interactive Supercomputing, and the X10 by IBM. More will come.

Indian firms that innovate will find themselves well poised to tackle the next generation of software challenges. They will also be in a position to draw on their inhouse talent to serve the global market for supercomputing software and services. High levels of programmer productivity make it possible to write complex software that realistically model scientific phenomena.

Solutions are available for many simulations already, and one need not reinvent the wheel for modelling car crashes, airplane design or oil exploration, for example. We need the capacity to solve problems unique to India. One such problem is Indian ground water hydrology, the accurate modelling of which may help make informed policy decisions. Expertise in climate modelling will help us understand the effects of global warming. For example, what will happen to our rivers that originate from Himalayan glaciers?

A successful supercomputing ecosystem requires three elements: applications, software and hardware. Real applications have to be the driving force. Applications can originate from universities, the industry or the government. Next comes a pool of talented programmers. They need to be well versed in techniques for high performance computing, while equipped with a rigorous math and science educational base to solve scientific problems.

Setting up a supercomputing facility is the last piece of the puzzle. It houses many supercomputers with dedicated support staff that helps users get their applications working. And this brings me to the other fascinating Reno revelation mentioned earlier. Along with the Top 500 challenge that ranks supercomputers, there is another challenge known informally as “the beauty contest”. The aim of this is to rank the ease-of-use of software. The winners of this contest were Interactive Supercomputing’s Star-P platform and IBM’s X10 programming language. Part of the X10 team is located at IBM’s India Research Laboratory in New Delhi.

This involves cutting edge technology and requires significant proficiency at diverse functions. To me, this is what truly announces India’s entry to the supercomputing big league.