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Andrew Dinn

Research Fellow

Room number: IT-302
email: adinn@cs.man.ac.uk
Tel.: +44 161 275 6294
Homepage: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/apt/people/adinn/
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I have been a researcher in the Computer Science Department of the University of Manchester since October 2002. I am a member of the Jamaica Group investigating automatic dynamic parallelization of Java code for execution on novel multi-core chip architectures. My research interests include Virtual Machine Architectures and Compiler Optimization.

I have been working in academia and in the computer industry for over 20 years, as a systems programmer, applications programmer, consultant and researcher in a large number of different fields. I have mostly worked on Unix systems using C and Java. Early in my career I was privileged to be able to work on the Xerox Lisp machine using Interlisp-D and LOOPS as well as having the opportunity to use Quintus Prolog and Xerox Smalltalk-80. I was lucky enough to be able to interact with some of the researchers at Xerox PARC, Xerox AI Systems and Quintus responsible for developing these outstanding tools.

In previous incarnations I have worked in the following fields:

  • distributed real-time simulations (VAX/68000 asm/array processors and FORTRAN)
  • Lisp based AI applications (Interlisp-D/Xerox AI Systems Workstation)
  • early object-oriented programming languages and design tools (Smalltalk, LOOPS, KEE)
  • user interface design and development tools and user centered design methodologies
  • logic programming applications and parallel logic language implementations (Prolog, Flat Concurrent Prolog, Parlog, Strand88)
  • distributed, client-server applications and transaction management systems (XNS [Xerox Network Systems], TCP/IP & RPC, Transarc's Transactional Toolkit)
  • persistent programming and OODB [object-oriented database] query language compilation/optimization (Exodus/persistent C++, ROCK & ROLL)
  • 3d graphics renderer implementations (OpenGL and a ray tracing Renderman)

I am currently writing papers describing:

  • porting of the Jikes RVM to run on the Jamaica chip multi-processor
  • performance of the Jamaica task distribution hardware compared with conventional, software task distribution schemes employing shared memory/coherent cache protocols.
Previous publications include:
  • Paton, N.W., Williams, M.H., Dietrich, K., Liew, O., Dinn, A. and Patrick, A., VESPA: A Benchmark For Vector Spatial Databases. in Proc. 17th British National Conference on Databases, B. Lings and K. Jeffery (eds), 81-101, Springer-Verlag, 2000.
  • Dinn, A., Paton, N.W. and Williams, M.H., Active Rule Analysis and Optimisation in the ROCK & ROLL Deductive Object-Oriented Database. Information Systems, Vol 24, No 4, 327-353, 1999
  • Dinn, A., Paton, N.W. and Williams, M.H., RAP: The ROCK & ROLL Active Programming System. Active Rules in Database Systems, part III, chapter 17, ed Paton. N.W., Springer, New York 1999, ISBN 0-387-98529-8
  • Paton, N.W. Dinn, A., and Williams, M.H., Optimization. Active Rules in Database Systems, part I, chapter 4, ed Paton. N.W., Springer, New York 1999, ISBN 0-387-98529-8
  • Fernandes, A.A.A., Dinn, A., Paton, N.W., Williams, M.H., and Liew, O. Extending a Deductive Object-Oriented Database with Spatial Data Handling Facilities. Information and Software Technology 41(8) 1999, pp. 483-497.
  • Dinn, A., Paton, N.W., Williams, M.H., Fernandes, A.A.A., and Barja, M.L., The Implementation of a Deductive Query Language over an OODB. Journal of Systems Integration 7(3/4), 1997, pp. 231-261. [A shorter version appeared in T.W. Ling, A.O. Mendelzon, and L. Vielle (eds.) Proceedings DOOD'95 - Fourth International Conference on Deductive and Object-Oriented Databases, LNCS 1013, pp. 143-160. Singapore, December 1995. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-60608-4.]
  • Mueller, V., Paton, N.W., Fernandes, A.A.A., Dinn, A., and Williams, M.H. Virtual Realms: An Efficient Implementation Strategy for Finite Resolution Spatial Data Types. 1996. In M.J. Kraak and M. Molenaar (eds.), Advances in GIS Research II Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling - SDH'96, pp. 697-710. Delft, The Netherlands, August 1996. Taylor & Francis. 1997 ISBN 0-748-40591-7.
  • Dinn, A., Paton, N.W., Williams, M.H., and Fernandes, A.A.A. An Active Rule Language for ROCK & ROLL. 1996. In R. Morrison and J. Kennedy (eds.) Advances in Databases: 14th British National Conference on Databases, BNCOD 14, LNCS 1094, pp. 36-55. Edinburgh, July 1996. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-61442-7.
  • Barja, M.L., Fernandes, A.A.A., Paton, N.W., Williams, M.H., Dinn, A., and Abdelmoty, A.I. Design and Implementation of ROCK & ROLL: A Deductive Object-Oriented Database System. Information Systems 20(3), pp. 185-211, 1995.
  • Fernandes, A.A.A., Williams, M.H., Paton, N.W., Barja, M.L., and Dinn, A. Object-Oriented Database Programming Languages Founded on an Axiomatic Theory of Objects. Position paper for the ECOOP 94 Workshop on Logical Foundations of Object-Oriented Programming, Bologna, Italy, July 1994.
  • Barja, M.L., Paton, N.W., Fernandes, A.A.A., Williams, M.H., and Dinn, A. An Effective Deductive Object-Oriented Database Through Language Integration. In J. Bocca, M. Jarke, and C. Zaniolo (eds.) Proceedings of the Twentieth International Conference on Very Large Databases, pp. 463-474. Santiago de Chile, Chile, September 1994. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. ISBN 1-55860-153-8.
  • Abdelmoty, A.I., Paton, N.W., Williams, M.H., Fernandes, A.A.A., Barja, M.L., and Dinn, A. Geographic Data Handling in a Deductive Object-Oriented Database. In D. Karagiannis (ed.) Database and Expert System Applications - 5th International Conference, DEXA'94, Proceedings, LNCS 856, pp. 445--454. Athens, Greece, September 1994. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-58435-8.