Parallel Evolution of Parallel Processors PDF

Study the past, if you would divine the future. -CONFUCIUS A well written, organized, and concise survey is an important tool in any newly emerging field of study.

This present text is the first of a new series that has been established to promote the publications of such survey books.

A survey serves several needs. Virtually every new research area has its roots in several diverse areas and many of the initial fundamental results are dispersed across a wide range of journals, books, and conferences in many dif- ferent sub fields.

A good survey should bring together these results. But just a collection of articles is not enough. Since terminology and notation take many years to become standardized, it is often difficult to master the early papers.

In addition, when a new research field has its foundations outside of computer science, all the papers may be difficult to read.

Each field has its own view of el- egance and its own method of presenting results.

A good survey overcomes such difficulties by presenting results in a notation and terminology that is familiar to most computer scientists.

A good survey can give a feel for the whole field. It helps identify trends, both successful and unsuccessful, and it should point new researchers in the right direction.