In the assertive programming paradigm,
computations are specified as sets of as
sertions about properties of the solution,
and not as a sequence of procedural
steps. Procedures are automatically gen
erated from the assertive description. As
sertive programming for scientific parallel
processing is supported by equational
languages in which assertions are ex
pressed as algebraic equations. Such lan
guages are naturally suited to mathemat
ical modeling. They also prove effective
for describing general computational tasks.
Programs written in equational languages
are concise, free from implementation de
tails, and amenable to verification and
parallel processing. This paper advocates
the use of equational languages for pro
gramming large-scale computations on
parallel machines. The example of the
MODEL equational language demonstrates
that powerful parallel software develop
ment tools can be built in an equational
programming environment. The example
specification of an econometric model of
the six countries in the Pacific Basin il-
Iustrates a coordinated use of these tools
in program development
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