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Subject: Re: Dann's multiple cpu program

Author: Pete Galati

Date: 09:27:57 11/10/99

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On November 10, 1999 at 04:20:21, Bas Hamstra wrote:

>It looks like threads will be continually created and destroyed. Doesn't that
>give a lot of overhead?
>
>Regards,
>Bas Hamstra.

Are you complaining about something?  I don't follow what you're saying.

Pete

>
>On November 09, 1999 at 15:30:46, Dann Corbit wrote:
>
>>On November 09, 1999 at 14:55:40, Pete Galati wrote:
>>>This week the local pbs station ran a Scientific American program about robots,
>>>most of it was about robots that tried to emulate movement of cockroaches and
>>>tuna (not so easy).
>>>
>>>But the more interesting part of the program was focussing on teams of small
>>>independent robots who works together to play socker and there was separate
>>>developement teams who competed agaist each other with their teems of robots,
>>>this was fun to watch this part.
>>>
>>>I forget who won the tounament, it might have been Cornel Univ.
>>>
>>>So the next day I more or less associated this with what Dann was talking about
>>>with using a large amount of CPUs to run a program since each cpu could be
>>>dedicated to a peice.  My memory's a bit foggy about what Dann had said about
>>>how he planned to do this though.
>>>
>>>In my mind the way I would see it being done would be 1 cpu for the 8 pawns, 1
>>>cpu for the 2 Knights, 1 for the 2 Bishops, 1 for the 2 Rooks, 1 for the Queen,
>>>1 for the King, and then 2 more cpu, 1 for the commanding general (not a piece,
>>>and 1 last cpu for the medics (not a piece) and the medics job would not really
>>>be to care for the dead piece (captured) but to account for and repair the
>>>damage done.  8 CPUs
>>>
>>>Too far fetched?  Probably.  I don't remember how Dann related what he was
>>>attempting, and I probably won't dig his posts up.  I just wanted to throw the
>>>concept out there the way I see it.  Is that more or less what you're doing
>>>Dann?
>>My idea is more related to permutations than to pieces.  If I have some board
>>position p, there are a set of possible subsequent positions one ply later.  So
>>I do this:
>>0. Have a thread that analyzes the root for ce.  This thread is permanent for
>>the duration of the iteration.
>>1. Have a thread that analyzes the root for checkmates.  This thread is
>>permanent for the duration of the iteration.
>>2.  Have a thread that analyzes each possible next position.  These threads are
>>transient.  After a time period called heartbeat, they check back in.  The ones
>>that are not finding anything good abandon their tasks and analyze subsequent
>>positions from the ones that are doing well.
>>
>>This method obviously takes a pile of CPU's and the more the merrier.  It will
>>work effectively only at the longer time controls but will work well on message
>>passing machines and other non SMP architectures.



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