ClassdescMP: A Simple Way to Send Complex Objects Between Processes with MPI

Title: ClassdescMP: A Simple Way to Send Complex Objects Between Processes with MPI

Research Question: How can we make it easier to send complex objects between processes using MPI, without hiding the underlying MPI API?

Methodology: The researchers developed ClassdescMP, a distributed memory parallel programming system for use with C++ and MPI. It uses the Classdesc reflection system to simplify the process of building complicated messages to be sent between processes. ClassdescMP doesn't hide the MPI API, allowing users to still call standard MPI function calls if needed for performance reasons.

Results: ClassdescMP has been successfully used in various engineering and scientific codes. It allows for the easy serialization of objects, binding of scripting languages or GUI objects to 'worker' objects, and remote method invocation. It also provides machine-independent serialization for objects, which is crucial in a heterogeneous cluster environment.

Implications: ClassdescMP is a valuable tool for scientists and engineers who need to send complex objects between processes in a distributed computing environment. It simplifies the process of building messages and allows for more flexible and efficient communication between processes.

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0401027v1 Authors: arXiv ID: 0401027v1