Restructuring Sequential Fortran Code into a Parallel/Distributed Application

A workable approach for modernization of existing software into parallel/distributed applications is through coarse-grain restructuring. If, for instance, entire subroutines of legacy code can be plugged into the new structure, the investment required for the re-discovery of the details of what they do can be spared. The resulting renovated software can then take advantage of the improved performance offered by modern parallel/distributed computing environments, without rethinking or rewriting the bulk of their existing code. In this paper, we discuss one of our experiments using the new coordination language MANIFOLD to restructure an existing sequential numerical application written in Fortran 77, into a parallel/distributed application. 1 Introduction A key area in software modernization is renovating aging software systems to take advantage of the parallel and distributed computing environments of today. Interestingly, not all "aging software" consists of the dusty decks of the s..