Next: Introduction
Relative Debugging and its Application to the Development of Large
Numerical Models
Relative Debugging and its Application to the Development of Large
Numerical Models
- David Abramson
-
-
School of Computing and Information Technology
Griffith University
Nathan, Qld 4111, AUSTRALIA
davida@cit.gu.edu.au
http://www.cit.gu.edu.au:80/~davida/davida.html
+61-7-875-5049
- Ian Foster
-
Mathematics and Computer Science Division
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne, IL 60439, U.S.A.
foster@mcs.anl.gov
http://www.mcs.anl.gov/people/foster/
- John Michalakes
-
Mathematics and Computer Science Division
Argonne National Laboratory
michalak@mcs.anl.gov
http://www.mcs.anl.gov/people/michalakes/
- Rok Sosic
-
School of Computing and Information Technology
Griffith University
sosic@cit.gu.edu.au
http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~sosic/
- Keywords:
- Debugging, Tools, Parallelism, Guard, Scientific Computing,
Relative Debugging, MM5, Meteorology
Abstract:
Because large scientific codes are rarely static objects, developers
are often faced with the tedious task of accounting for discrepancies
between new and old versions. In this paper, we describe a new
technique called relative debugging that addresses this problem
by automating the process of comparing a modified code against a
correct reference code. We examine the utility of the relative
debugging technique by applying a relative debugger called Guard to a
range of debugging problems in a large atmospheric circulation model.
Our experience confirms the effectiveness of the approach. Using
Guard, we are able to validate a new sequential version of the
atmospheric model, and to identify the source of a significant
discrepancy in a parallel version in a short period of time.
David Abramson
Mon May 6 11:20:37 EST 1996