Explore a thought-provoking conference talk that challenges conventional wisdom on parallel programming. Delve into Guy L. Steele Jr.'s argument that programmers should not be burdened with thinking about parallelism, and instead, programming languages should provide transparent parallel execution. Discover how this paradigm shift requires a new approach to language design, focusing on algorithms built on independence and build-and-conquer principles rather than linear problem decomposition. Gain insights from Steele's extensive experience as a Sun Fellow and his work in programming language research. Examine detailed examples, including IBM 1130 programming, instruction formats, and code analysis, to understand the evolution of programming concepts. Learn about key topics such as computation trees, atomic updates, and the importance of algebraic properties in algorithm design. Uncover the main points of Steele's talk and explore what makes code truly effective in the context of parallel programming. Read more