Introduction to Associative Dataflow Processing: From Concept To Implementation

Today’s computer systems are based on control-flow model of computation which is beset with limitations when exploiting parallelism. Data-flow model of computation, though parallel in nature, is plagued with its own bottlenecks. This book provides a window into an alternative model of computation called associative dataflow which is expected to usher in a new era of computing in the years to come. The book describes the associative dataflow model in comparison with the control-flow and data- flow models of today and then presents design of a processor which implements this model in hardware. The design has been simulated and prototyped using commercially available software tools and shows considerable improvement in performance compared to currently existing dataflow machines. It is hoped that this book will kindle renewed interest among graduate computer science and engineering students, practicing engineers, and computer architects to propose, improve, and develop newer models of computation so as to reap maximum advantage from the recent advances in the integrated circuit technology.