1. Overview of OpenMP Programming

Moore’s Law originally stated that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years, leading to a corresponding increase in computational power and frequency. This rapid advancement was achievable by increasing transistor density. However, as transistor density increased, so did the heat generated, making it increasingly difficult to maintain this pace of improvement.

To address this challenge, computer architects sought alternative solutions. One effective and cost-efficient strategy was the implementation of multiple cores within a single CPU. IBM was a pioneer in this area, releasing the first multi-core CPU in 2001. Intel followed in 2002 with the Intel Pentium 4, which introduced hyper-threading. Hyper-threading allowed the processor to switch between tasks quickly, creating the illusion of performing multiple processes simultaneously, though it wasn’t true parallel computing.

Since then, the adoption of multi-core CPUs has become widespread, with some systems incorporating multiple CPUs. This shift necessitated the development of methods to effectively utilize these additional cores, leading to the rise of parallel computing.

OpenMP (Open Multi-Processing) is a powerful and versatile API that simplifies parallel programming for a variety of computing architectures, including shared memory systems, distributed memory systems, and accelerators such as GPUs. This chapter introduces the fundamental concepts of OpenMP, including its key features, and basic syntax. You will learn how to set up your development environment, write your first parallel program, and understand the core constructs that make OpenMP an indispensable tool for enhancing computational performance. Through interactive examples, you will gain a solid foundation in parallel programming principles and prepare yourself for more advanced topics in subsequent chapters.