DESCRIPTION

prism enters Prism, an X-based graphical programming environment within which you can develop, execute, debug, and visualize data in serial and parallel programs.

You must execute the prism command from a terminal or workstation running the X Window System (unless you specify the -C option).

If issued without the -n (or -np) option prism starts scalar Prism, the version of Prism designed for use on serial programs.

If issued with the -n (or -np) option, prism starts MP Prism, the version of Prism designed for use on message-passing or other multiprocess programs. The -c and -p options for Prism in the CRE environment also start MP Prism. Message-passing programs must be written in the SPMD style (that is, each process must run the same executable program).

If you specify -n (or -np), you can also include other options to specify where the processes are to run. These control where the processes are run unless overridden by a Prism option. If you don't specify -n (or -np), -bsubargs, or -mprunargs, one copy of the program runs on your login node.

If issued without the name of an executable program, prism displays the main window of the Prism environment, with no program loaded. If you issue it with the name of an executable program, prism loads that program into Prism upon startup.

If you specify core-file, prism associates that core file with the program you load. Within Prism, you can then examine the stack and display the values of variables at the point at which core was dumped.

If you specify pid, prism loads the running process with that process ID into Prism. The process is interrupted, and you can then work with the program in Prism as you normally would. When attaching to a running serial process in this manner, Prism must be started on the same node on which the process is running. In MP Prism, you can specify jid, the job ID for a multiprocess program running in a Sun HPC system. To load a multiprocess program by its job ID, you must also use one of the arguments that specifies the message-passing version of Prism, MP Prism, such as the -n or -np arguments (in the CRE environment, you can also use the -c and -p arguments to specify the message-passing version of Prism).

If you specify infile, prism reads and executes commands from the specified file upon startup. Specifying infile redirects standard input (stdin), blocking subsequent user input to Prism. If you specify outfile, prism logs all its input and output to this file. This includes commands from infile and commands typed on the command line within Prism.

If there is a .prisminit file in your current working directory, prism executes the commands in it upon startup. If .prisminit isn't in your current working directory, prism looks for it in your home directory. If it isn't in either place, prism starts up without executing a .prisminit file.