One of the main reasons it is difficult to write multithreaded code is that current shared-memory multicore systems can execute code nondeterministically. Each time a multithreaded application runs, it can produce a different output even if supplied with the same input. This frustrates debugging efforts and limits the ability to properly test multithreaded code, major obstacles to the widespread adoption of parallel programming.

Past efforts to address the problem of nondeterminism have primarily focused on deterministic replay and deterministic parallel programming models. The former is useful only for debugging, while the latter is typically domain-specific. In contrast, this project posits that shared memory multiprocessor systems should always behave deterministically when executing any shared-memory parallel program. The core idea is to make inter-thread communication appear to be fully deterministic by guaranteeing equivalence to a deterministic serialized execution. This can be made efficient by employing speculation and exploiting properties of memory sharing behavior of applications.

Tasks in this project include: (1) developing an architecture for efficient deterministic multiprocessing, from mechanisms to the hardware/software interface, (2) addressing system issues, e.g., executing an operating system in deterministic multiprocessors, and (3) leveraging the deterministic multiprocessing hardware/software interface to create tools for debugging, testing and bug avoidance.