Reconfigurable Computing: boosting software education for the multicore era: Why we need to reinvent computing

Summary form only given. This talk discusses important technical-educational issues that, if addressed effectively and timely, could forestall a future dramatic crisis related to the rapidly growing immense electricity consumption of all computers, directly visible or embedded in all kinds of devices, appliances, machines, facilities, complexes, and other computer-based cyber infrastructures. Just for only the internet an increase by a factor of 30 by the year 2030 has been predicted [107] “if the trend continues”. This means a much higher electricity consumption than that of the entire world to-day. This trend is unaffordable. Only looking at climate issues the climate protection scene completely ignores these highly dramatic electricity consumption predictions. However, to avoid a breakdown of the world economy we need these cyber infrastructures. Only Reconfigurable Computing can avoid, that running these infrastructures becomes unaffordable in the future. This very urgent, and we have to complete our rescue actions much earlier than 2030. To solve this problem we need an extensive software to configware migration campaign. However, the programmer population qualified for such movements is not existing. Since twin-paradigm hetero systems have to be programmed we must reinvent computing. We need an initiative at least as far-reaching as the VLSI design revolution initiated in the early 1980s by Carver Mead and Lynn Conway. The needed designer population has not been existing. Under massive funding this initiative has implemented the microelectronics design revolution solving the design crisis and was the incubator of new industries. Professors back to school!.