[Beowulf] A start in Parallel Programming?

[Mitchell Wisidagamage]

> 
>   a) Learn C.  No matter what you do, if you plan to be a "real coder"
> you will sooner or later need to learn C.  Sane people don't write
> operating systems in Fortran or C++ or Lisp, and there are damn good
> reasons for this.  Also you can do amazing things with C and actually
> understand what the computer is doing when you do them (because C has
> been described on this very list as "a thin veneer of upper-level
> language sensibility on top of raw assembler", a phrase that I just love
> that is SO true even though I can't remember who actually said it.  I
> wish it were me but it wasn't:-).  Who knows what LISP is actually doing
> and how it is doing it? Not even the developers...
> 

I'm a c fan myself. However when I was doing the "safety-critical 
systems" module I was deeply disappointed to learn that c isn't "safe" 
and sometimes "not recommended" (by IEC 1508 when developing safety 
critical systems).

I can understand why c is considered naughty but isn't it bad 
programming (systems development) to blame rather than the flexibility 
of the language?

I'm wondering what languages are actually used when developing critical 
systems (such as aviation and missile control systems?).

My uni's LAN is protected but I found a similar lecture series at 
another uni on the net.  See page 25 on:
https://www.cis.strath.ac.uk/teaching/ug/classes/52.422/programming_languages.pdf

Full lecture series:
https://www.cis.strath.ac.uk/teaching/ug/classes/52.422/

Regards,
  Mitchell