By Richard Gerber and Andrew Binstock
Parallel programming makes use of threads to enable two or more operations to proceed in parallel. The entire concept of parallel programming centers on the design, development, and deployment of threads within an application and the coordination between threads and their respective operations. This article examines how to break up traditional programming tasks into chunks that are suitable for threading. It then demonstrates how to create threads, how these threads are typically run on multiprocessing systems, and how threads are run using HT Technology.

Designing for Threads

Developers unacquainted with parallel programming are generally comfortable with traditional programming models such as single-threaded declarative programs and object-oriented programming (OOP). In both cases, a program begins at a defined point — such as main() — and works through a series of tasks in succession. If the program relies on user interaction, the main processing instrument is a loop in which user events are handled. From each allowed event — a button click, for example — an established sequence of actions is performed that ultimately ends with a wait for the next user action.

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