A framework for experimenting with structured parallel programming environment design

ASSIST is a parallel programming environment aimed at providing programmers of complex parallel application with a suitable and effective programming tool. Being based on algorithmical skeletons and coordination languages technologies, the programming environment relieves the programmer from a number of cumbersome, error prone activities that are required when using traditional parallel programming environments. ASSIST has been specifically designed to be easily customizable in order to experiment different implementation techniques, solutions, algorithms or back-ends any time new features are required or new technologies become available. In this work we discuss how this goal has been achieved and how the current ASSIST programming environment has been already used to experiment solutions not implemented in the first version of the tool.