Converting openmp programs to Habanero-C
Creating a task
#pragma omp task => async
The block of code enclosed by an omp task is now enclosed in an async block
Passing data to a task
OpenMP provide the following clause to define how a task should access variables
- shared: variable are shared between threads (default, except for loop iteration index)
- private: each thread has a local copy and use it as a temporary variable. A private variable is not initialized.
- firstprivate: like private except initialized to original value
Equivalent in HC:
- shared: The only way to share a variable between asyncs is to pass a pointer to a variable or pass a global variable as an IN parameter.
- private: The closest semantic in HC is to declare a variable at the beginning of the async body. Each async is going to have storage for the variable and is not initialized.
- firstprivate: Matches the semantic of the IN clause. Each async has a local copy of each IN clauses arguments and is initialized to its original value.
Waiting for tasks
#pragma omp taskwait
Need to create a finish block that encloses each asyncs (omp tasks) the application needs to wait for.
Atomic and Critical sections
#pragma omp critical: enclosed block executed by only one thread at a time
HC doesn't provide the "isolated" construct as HJ does. Currently, you'll need to use any lock implementation available in C.
One solution is to use pthread_mutex_lock / pthread_mutex_unlock
#pragma omp atomic: atomic operation translated to hardware specific operation.
You should use one of the primitive provided by HC. Have a look at hc_sysdep.h in the HC runtime src folder. It provides implementations such as atomic CAS, atomic increment, etc... for various platforms.