This study is concerned with efficient use of a high-level machine-independent language in the AMT DAP (distributed array processor) series of computers. The AMT DAP is a single instruction multiple data stream computer. The recent enhancement of Fortran-Plus is described. This enhancement removed the restrictions on array shapes and sizes, giving a language which is independent of the available hardware parallelism. The enhanced Fortran-Plus has been implemented on the AMT DAP using the concept of the virtual systems architecture (VSA). The power of enhanced Fortran-Plus in expressing parallel algorithms is demonstrated in certain application areas. To show that the higher level of language has been implemented on the general VSA system without compromising performance, the performance of these codes is discussed for a range of problem sizes.>

The most effective use of mesh-connected array processors is achieved by paying careful attention to the organization of data. Storage and movement of the elements of multidimensional arrays of data within a multidimensional store for a particular problem is a difficult task, often handled in an ad hoc way. For an important class of problems, considerable conceptual simplification arises from considering a specification of the mapping rather than the physical location of data.