Computer Architecture and Parallel Processing

Computer Architecture and Parallel Processing is a textbook by Kai Hwang and Faye A. Briggs that provides a comprehensive overview of advanced computer architectures and parallel computing. The book, first published in 1984, explores how to design, improve, and optimize computer systems for high performance.
Key Topics Covered
• Fundamentals of Parallelism: It starts with the basics, including the evolution of computer systems and the theoretical foundations of parallel processing, and covers various parallel computer models like multiprocessors and multicomputers.
• Hardware and Software Interaction: The book provides an integrated study of both hardware and software systems. It delves into advanced processor technology, memory hierarchies, and pipelining, while also discussing the software aspects, such as parallel programming models, languages, and operating systems.
• System Components and Architectures: It explores crucial topics like memory and I/O subsystems, pipelined and vector processors, array processors, and multiprocessor architectures. It also covers concepts like Flynn’s Taxonomy (a classification of computer architectures) and different types of interconnection networks.
• Algorithms and Applications: The text covers the development of fast computing algorithms and discusses how to allocate hardware and software resources to solve large-scale computing problems, highlighting real-world applications in fields like engineering and scientific modeling.
Computer Architecture and Parallel Processing is a seminal work in the field and is often used as a reference for computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering courses.