Homework Instruction

This programming assignment consists of three integral parts: coding, conducting experiments, and report writing. It’s essential to give each section equal importance to ensure comprehensive understanding and successful completion of the task at hand. Here’s a breakdown of what’s expected for each part:

Coding

1. Code Optimization

• Begin by analyzing the provided code thoroughly.
• Identify areas of improvement and potential inefficiencies.
• Develop an optimized version that enhances performance while maintaining functionality.
• Do not optimize the code blindly. Focus on code blocks that consume the most time and resources.
• It is a good practice to make your program focusing on running only a single experiment. Code for automation can be added later as separated script.

2. Documentation & Clarity

• Ensure every function, class, and module is accompanied by concise and clear comments explaining its purpose and functionality.
• Any complex logic or algorithms used should have inline comments for better understanding. No need to comment anything that is easy to understand.
• It’s not just about writing comments but making the code itself self-explanatory through meaningful variable and function names.

3. Makefile

• Provide a Makefile to streamline the compilation process.
• The Makefile should support multiple targets as necessary, allowing for flexibility in compilation and testing.
  • When optimizations are from compilation flags, make separate targets for each optimization in your Makefile.
• Ensure the Makefile is free of errors and can successfully compile the code without issues.

4. Coding Style Consistency

• Adopt a consistent coding style throughout your work. This includes consistent indentation, naming conventions, and code structure.
• If you’re following any particular coding guidelines or standards, ensure you adhere to them strictly.
• Consistency aids in readability and maintainability, making it easier for others (and yourself) to review and understand your code in the future.

Work with data

1. Data Collection

   • You may write scripts for automation to feed various inputs to your program and collect results.
   • Results can be ideally in CSV (Comma Separated Values) format for easy processing and analysis.
   • Manually input the data into a spreadsheet is also an option, but it’s time-consuming and prone to errors.

2. Data Processing

   • Please follow the Data Processing Guide for effective data management.

3. Data Presentation

   • Plots are the best way to visualize your data.
   • Types

   • Line plot: show trends of series, focus on trend
   • Bar plot: show comparison of values in series
   • Scatter plot: show the relationship between two variables or the distribution of data in two-dimensional space
   • Histogram: show the distribution of data in one-dimensional space

• Useful plots in this course
  • Trend of run time: line plot, X: input size, Y: run time, Series: the optimization
  • Strong scaling: line plot, X: number of processes, Y: speedup, Series: input size
  • Weak scaling: line plot, X: number of processes, Y: speedup, Series: input size per process

Report Writing

• Report Writing Guidelines