Document Type
Article
Department
Computer Science (HMC)
Publication Date
1998
Abstract
In 1842, L.F. Menabrea anticipated the benefits of parallel computing in an article that appeared in the Swiss Journal Bibliotheque universelle de Geneve:
When a long series of identical computations is to be performed, such as those required for the formation of numerical tables, the machine can be brought into play so as to give several results at the same time, which will greatly abridge the whole amount of the processes.
Although more than a century passed before Menabrea's vision became a reality, today parallel computers with hundreds and even thousands of processors are used in a broad range of applications.
Rights Information
© 1998 Mathematical Association of America
Recommended Citation
R. Libeskind-Hadas, “Sorting in Parallel,” The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 105, No. 3, March 1998, pp. 238-245.
