OpenSBLI: A framework for the automated derivation and parallel execution of finite difference solvers on a range of computer architectures

TL;DR

OpenSBLI is a flexible framework that automates the derivation and parallel execution of finite difference solvers, enabling efficient adaptation to diverse and emerging high-performance computing architectures through code generation.

Contribution

It introduces a high-level, automated code generation approach for finite difference solvers, reducing manual re-coding for new hardware architectures.

Findings

Enables efficient execution on various architectures

Reduces manual coding effort for hardware adaptation

Supports high-level specification of equations

Abstract

Exascale computing will feature novel and potentially disruptive hardware architectures. Exploiting these to their full potential is non-trivial. Numerical modelling frameworks involving finite difference methods are currently limited by the 'static' nature of the hand-coded discretisation schemes and repeatedly may have to be re-written to run efficiently on new hardware. In contrast, OpenSBLI uses code generation to derive the model's code from a high-level specification. Users focus on the equations to solve, whilst not concerning themselves with the detailed implementation. Source-to-source translation is used to tailor the code and enable its execution on a variety of hardware.