Challenges of evolving sequential to parallel code: an exploratory review

Large legacy systems that have been in use for several decades need to evolve in order to take advantage of new technological advances. One such development is the emergence of multi-core processors and parallel platforms. However, the evolution of code written for single-core platforms into code that can take advantage of multi-core technology is challenging. The aim of this research is to explore the challenges that parallel programmers face in the evolution of existing software to exploit multicore and parallel architectures. A review of the current literature was conducted and ten frequently reported challenges were identified. It is important to raise awareness of potential challenges that practitioners may face when evolving sequential code to exploit multicore platforms in order to be better prepared for future evolution. The research community can use these results to develop a research agenda in order to design and develop solutions to address these challenges.