Lectures on Parallel Computing

This textbook is intended for an undergraduate course on the fundamentals of parallel computing or as a background and reference for graduate courses on high-performance computing, shared-memory multiprocessor programming, or parallel algorithms.

The author introduces theoretical concepts and tools for expressing, analyzing, and assessing parallel algorithms, and covers in detail the two most widely used concrete frameworks, OpenMP and MPI, plus the threading interface pthreads for writing parallel programs for either shared or distributed memory parallel computers with an emphasis on general concepts and principles. Code examples are given in a C-like style, and the extensive exercises can be used for self-study and as inspiration for small implementation projects in OpenMP and MPI.

The book is appropriate for students and professionals engaged in all aspects of parallel computing.

Jesper Träff has a Master's in Computer Science and Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Copenhagen. He worked at the European Computer-Industry Research Centre in Munich, the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science, and TU München. After completing his habilitation at the University of Copenhagen, he was scientific coordinator for the EU FP7 project PEPPHER. He was Professor for Scientific Computing at the University of Vienna, he is now Professor for Parallel Computing at TU Wien.