Neural Nets with P-Threads

CMSC 483/691c, Parallel Programming

Project 2: Neural Nets with P-Threads

Project Goals

The purpose of this project is to get hands-on experience programming matrix operations with p-threads, a widely available threads package.

The Project

You are to rewrite your three-layer "forward" neural network calculation, nnfwd.c, to use p-threads rather than the SGI m_fork routines. Other than using p-threads, the specifications are the same as for project 1.

Getting Started

You can download the p-threads examples in the text from the text web page, these are very useful in getting started. p-threads are available at UMBC on both SGI and Sun systems. "man pthreads" will give you more information, possibly more than you want, as the package has many features you will probably not need.

Submitting Your Project

Make a tar file containing the project files, that is, your *.c, *.h, and Makefile, and submit this as an email attachment, to motteler@umbc.edu, with subject "project 2". Make sure that your name and "project 2" are at the top of your main files.

Grading

You should read the page concerning general information on programming projects. About 60% of your grade is based on how well your code works, with the remainder of the points divided between design and documentation. Projects are due by midnight of the assigned date; there is a 5% bonus for each day a project is turned in early (for up to two days early), and a 5% penalty for each day the project is turned in late.