The efficiency of dataflow code generated from a high-level language can be considerably improved by both conventional and dataflow-specific optimizations. Such techniques are used in implementing the single-assignment language SISAL on the Manchester Dataflow Machine. The quality of code generated for numeric applications can be measured in terms of the ratio of total number of instructions executed to floating-point operations: the MIPS/MFLOPS ratio. Relevant features of the general-purpose single-assignment language SISAL and the Manchester Dataflow Machine are introduced. An assessment of the initial SISAL implementation shows it to be very expensive. A range of optimizations is then described.>

The Flagship project aims to produce a computing technology based on the declarative style of programming. A major component of that technology is the design for a parallel machine that can efficiently utilize the implicit parallelism in declarative programs. The computational models that expose this implicit parallelism are described, and an architecture designed to use it is outlined. The operational issues, such as dynamic load balancing, that arise in such a system are discussed, and the mechanisms being used to evaluate the architecture are described.>

Experience with the Manchester Dataflow Machine has highlighted the importance of efficient handling of stored data structures in a practical parallel machine. It has proved necessary to add a special-purpose structure store to the machine, and this paper describes the role of this structure store and the software which uses it. Some key issues in data structure handling for parallel machines are raised.