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Sunday, May 6, 2012

The Computer Element (Cel)

Welcome » The NERW Reference Model

The purpose of the computer element (or cel) is to abstract the physical entity that hosts the processing element (pel) and/or the memory element (mel).

Certain cels can host only processing elements. For example, a thread in a thread pool is a cel that can only host pel tasks. On the other hand, the cel representing a communication channel only supports messaged mels. There are also cels that can host both execution and storage elements. A transputer with its embedded microprocessor and integrated memory is such an example.

Via the cel properties, a NERW programmer can access the underlying hardware or software entity that actually provides the hosting facility. The programmer can also override the default CHAOS assignment, and specify a particular cel when declaring a pel or mel variable in a NERW program.

Besides providing a hosting abstraction to pels and mels, the cels also act as communicating nodes over an abstract network called the nerw.


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