Form Follows Function - Do algorithms and applications challenge or drag behind the hardware evolution?

Abstract

Exascale roadmaps are dominated by predictions on hardware trends. At the same time, hardware-software co-design is a frequently cited phrase. It suggests that software development has an impact on the hardware evolution. Is this assumption valid? If so, what does this interplay of predicted hardware improvements and software development look like? We invite speakers from consortia developing exascale codes designing software for hardware that does not yet exist. The project-driven talks are complemented by vendor-driven provocations. The aim of the workshop is to sketch answers to a couple of questions from an algorithm/application point of view: •How do predictions on new hardware features impact the projects' research agenda? Notably, how do the hardware roadmaps shape algorithm development today? •What characteristics make some applications exascale candidates? Do these characteristics stem from particular algorithmic ideas, and are there constraints on the type of algorithms and applications that we will see soon on the exascale level? •Do statements on hardware-aware algorithm development and hardware-software co-design affect particular machine aspects, or is notably the last term a buzzword? •To which degree can simulation codes have an impact on what machines are designed?