The PCG: An Empirical Study

Process communication graph (PCG) is the visual formalism used in a graph-based visual language (VL) for parallel programming. It combines control flow and data flow graphs into a single visual formalism, and supports different levels of abstraction at which parallel programs are expressed and moves to compositional programming. Empirical studies allow designers to put their designs to test in a direct and intentional interaction with users. For research projects this may be the only way to assess if their goals have been met. The case study presented here was conducted on programmers (students) solving parallel programming problems using the PCG formalism to construct parallel programs. The results of this evaluation indicate that users benefit from visual programming, even at the beginning of the learning curve.