COMPOSE-HPC: A Transformational Approach to Exascale

Abstract

The goal of the COMPOSE-HPC project is to "democratize" tools for automatic transformation of program source code so that it becomes tractable for the developers of scientific applications to create and use their own transformations reliably and safely. This paper describes our approach to this challenge, the creation of the KNOT tool chain, which includes tools for the creation of annotation languages to control the transformations (PAUL), to perform the transformations (ROTE), and optimization and code generation (BRAID), which can be used individually and in combination. We also provide examples of current and future uses of the KNOT tools, which include transforming code to use different programming models and environments, providing tests that can be used to detect errors in software or its execution, as well as composition of software written in different programming languages, or with different threading patterns.