Designing And Building Parallel Programs: Concepts And Tools For Parallel Software Engineering [book review]

In 'Designing and Building Parallel Program', the author Ian Foster attempts "to provide a practitioner's guide for students, programmers, engineers, and scientists who wish to design and build efficient and cost-effective programs for parallel and distributed computer systems." He views parallel programming as an "engineering discipline." To reinforce that view, he has divided the book into three parts: Concepts, Tools, and Resources. The reviewer feels that although the book's content might be a few years out of date and a bit choppy in its presentation, it is nevertheless an extremely useful educational tool or reference and will be an excellent addition to his bookshelf.