Diva: A dataflow programming model and its runtime support in Java virtual machine

Microprocessors have turned to multicore, i.e. multiple processor cores, along with some levels of on-chip caches and interconnection networks, integrated on a singe chip. However, it brings challenges on how to program these processors effectively and efficiently, which is known as the ldquoWallrdquo. This paper proposes a systematic approach to attack problem. We describe an extension of Java programming language with dataflow paradigm and transactional memory. Our approach alleviates the difficulties of parallel programming by providing a higher level of abstraction and relieving programmers of low-level threading and locking details. We also describe the design of a runtime system to support and optimize for the extension. We have implemented a prototype based on Apache Harmony DRL Virtual Machine. Preliminary experimental results on a 16-core SMP machine show that our approach achieves reasonable scalability and can adapt to the variance of available hardware resources.