Multicore technology is becoming ubiquitous in modern computing, with dual-core processors now commonplace in the laptop and desktop, and processors with four, eight and more cores coming soon. As clock speeds are no longer increasing, the only way an application will benefit from these new processors is by re-engineering it to run efficiently on more than one core. Parallel programming, once the preserve of high-end supercomputing, is now an essential tool for almost every software developer.

EPCC is running a three-day multicore training event in Edinburgh on 8 - 10 September 2009, hosted and supported by the e-Science Institute. The first day will introduce the basic concepts of multicore processors and the associated issues for multicore software. It is designed to be useful to anyone involved with IT provision or software development, but will not assume any in-depth programming knowledge. The following two days will cover how to write parallel software for multicore processors, mainly focusing on the OpenMP programming model. The ability to program in C, C++ or Fortran is a pre-requisite for this latter part of the course.

The course will be heavily based on practical sessions, with hands-on exercises accompanying the lectures. Anyone in possession of a multicore laptop will be encouraged to do the exercises on their own machine, assuming that appropriate compilers are available (we will provide advice on this in advance). We will also provide access to our own multicore machines. Although the programming techniques taught are applicable to a wide range of software, we will concentrate on applications that are very compute-intensive such as large-scale numerical calculations or data processing.

Target Audience
The first day of this workshop is intended for anyone, academic or commercial, involved in IT provision. Days 2 and 3 are intended for software developers from academia or industry.

Programme
This event is provisionally scheduled to start at 09:00 Tuesday 08 September 2009 and close at 17:30 on Thursday 10 September 2009.

The provisional timetable is:
Tuesday 8th September

Multicore architectures and programming models
    * CPU architectures

    * Parallel architectures

    * Parallel programming models

    * Multicore architectures

    * Practical multicore programming

Wednesday 9th September
Shared-memory programming using OpenMP (basics)
    * Introduction to OpenMP

    * Parallel regions

    * Practical session 1

    * Work sharing

    * Parallel loops

    * Practical session 2

Thursday 10th September
Shared-memory programming using OpenMP (further topics)
    * Synchronisation

    * Nesting and orphaning

    * Practical session 3

    * Performance tuning

    * Additional features

    * Practical session 4

Accommodation
Assistance with accommodation is offered once you have registered.

Important Dates
11 Jun - Registration Opens

01 Sep - Registration Deadline

01 Sep - Date we will respond to your application by (Please note this is the latest date we will respond to your application. It is normal policy for us to respond within 5 working days where possible.)

08 Sep - Event Starts at 09:00hrs

Travel
Full details on how to get to the e-Science Institute

Enquiries
Enquiries should be made directly to our Conference Administrator.