This book describes the IBM Parallel Environment (PE) for AIX program product and its Parallel Operating Environment (POE). It shows how to use POE's facilities to compile, execute, and analyze parallel programs.
This book concentrates on the actual commands and how to use them, as opposed to the writing of parallel programs. For this reason, you should use this book in conjunction with IBM Parallel Environment for AIX: MPI Programming and Subroutine Reference, (GC23-3894). New users should refer to IBM Parallel Environment for AIX: Hitchhiker's Guide, (GC23-3895), for basic and introductory information on PE.
This book assumes that AIX Version 4.3.2 or later, X-Windows**, and the PE software are already installed. It also assumes that you have been authorized to run the Parallel Operating Environment (POE). The PE software is designed to run on an IBM RS/6000 SP, an RS/6000 network cluster, or on a mixed system where additional RS/6000 processors supplement an SP system. For complete information on installing the PE software and setting up users, see IBM Parallel Environment for AIX: Installation, (GC28-1981). Also, see the appropriate AIX 4.3.2 or later documentation listed in "Related Publications".
This book is designed primarily for end users and application developers. It is also intended for those who run parallel programs, and some of the information covered should interest system administrators. Readers should have knowledge of the AIX operating system and the X-Window system. Where necessary, this book provides some background information relating to these areas. More commonly, this book refers you to the appropriate documentation.
This book contains the following information:
This book uses the following typographic conventions:
| Type Style | Used For |
|---|---|
| bold | Bold words or characters represent system elements that you
must use literally, such as command names, flag names, and path names.
Bold words also indicate the first use of a term included in the glossary. |
| italic | Italic words or characters represent variable values that you
must supply.
Italics are also used for book titles and for general emphasis in text. |
| Constant width | Examples and information that the system displays appear in constant width typeface. |
In addition to the highlighting conventions, this manual uses the following conventions when describing how to perform tasks. User actions appear in uppercase boldface type. For example, if the action is to enter the pedb command, this manual presents the instruction as:
The symbol "*" indicates the system response to an action. So the system's response to entering the pedb command would read:
As an alternative to ordering the individual books, you can use SBOF-8588 to order the entire IBM Parallel Environment for AIX library.
Throughout this book, a number of POE environment variables
are discussed. These environment variables can be set to influence the
operation of certain tools and the execution of parallel programs. The
POE environment variables also have associated command-line flags that can be
used when invoking a parallel program or tool. The POE command-line
flags temporarily override their associated environment variable. The
following table shows how to set a POE environment variable or command-line
flag depending on the shell you are using. The remainder of this book
assumes use of the Korn Shell. For a complete listing of the POE
environment variables and command-line flags, refer to Appendix B. "POE Environment Variables and Command-Line Flags".
| To set an environment variable: | To override an environment variable when invoking a parallel program or PE tool: | |
| In Korn Shell: |
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| In C Shell |
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For National Language Support (NLS), all PE components and tools display messages located in externalized message catalogs. English versions of the message catalogs are shipped with the IBM Parallel Environment for AIX program product, but your site may be using its own translated message catalogs. The AIX environment variable NLSPATH is used by the various PE components to find the appropriate message catalog. NLSPATH specifies a list of directories to search for message catalogs. The directories are searched, in the order listed, to locate the message catalog. In resolving the path to the message catalog, NLSPATH is affected by the values of the environment variables LC_MESSAGES and LANG. If you get an error saying that a message catalog is not found, and want the default message catalog:
The PE message catalogs are in English, and are located in the following directories:
If your site is using its own translations of the message catalogs, consult your system administrator for the appropriate value of NLSPATH or LANG. For additional information on NLS and message catalogs, see IBM Parallel Environment for AIX: Messages and AIX for RS/6000: General Programming Concepts
In order to use the PE man pages or access the PE online (HTML) publications, the ppe.pedocs file set must first be installed. To view the PE online publications, you also need access to an HTML document browser such as Netscape. An index to the HTML files that are provided with the ppe.pedocs file set is installed in the /usr/lpp/ppe.pedocs/html directory.
If you have a question about the SP, PSSP, or a related product, the following online information resources make it easy to find the information:
If you have the Resource Center on CD ROM, see the readme.txt file for information on how to run it.
All of the PE books are available in Portable Document Format (PDF). They are included on the product media (tape or CD ROM), and are part of the ppe.pedocs file set. If you have a question about the location of the PE softcopy books, see your System Administrator.
To view the PE PDF publications, you need access to the Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0.1. The Acrobat Reader is shipped with the AIX Version 4.3 Bonus Pack and is also freely available for downloading from the Adobe web site at URL http://www.adobe.com.
As stated above, you can also view or download the PE books from the IBM RS/6000 web site at http://www.rs6000.ibm.com. At the time this manual was published, the full path was http://www.rs6000.ibm.com/resource/aix_resource/sp_books. However, note that the structure of the RS/6000 web site can change over time.