MPI_Comm_spawn

Spawn up to maxprocs instances of a single MPI application

Synopsis

int MPI_Comm_spawn(const char *command, char *argv[], int maxprocs, MPI_Info info,
                   int root, MPI_Comm comm, MPI_Comm * intercomm, int array_of_errcodes[])

Input Parameters

command: name of program to be spawned (string, significant only at root)
argv: arguments to command (array of strings, significant only at root)
maxprocs: maximum number of processes to start (integer, significant only at root)
info: a set of key-value pairs telling the runtime system where and how to start the processes (handle, significant only at root)
root: rank of process in which previous arguments are examined (integer)
comm: intracommunicator containing group of spawning processes (handle)

Output Parameters

intercomm: intercommunicator between original group and the newly spawned group (handle)
array_of_errcodes: one code per process (array of integer)

Thread and Interrupt Safety

This routine is thread-safe. This means that this routine may be safely used by multiple threads without the need for any user-provided thread locks. However, the routine is not interrupt safe. Typically, this is due to the use of memory allocation routines such as mallocor other non-MPICH runtime routines that are themselves not interrupt-safe.

Notes for Fortran

All MPI routines in Fortran (except for MPI_WTIME and MPI_WTICK) have an additional argument ierr at the end of the argument list. ierris an integer and has the same meaning as the return value of the routine in C. In Fortran, MPI routines are subroutines, and are invoked with the call statement.

All MPI objects (e.g., MPI_Datatype, MPI_Comm) are of type INTEGERin Fortran.

Errors

All MPI routines (except MPI_Wtime and MPI_Wtick) return an error value; C routines as the value of the function and Fortran routines in the last argument. Before the value is returned, the current MPI error handler is called. By default, this error handler aborts the MPI job. The error handler may be changed with MPI_Comm_set_errhandler (for communicators), MPI_File_set_errhandler (for files), and MPI_Win_set_errhandler (for RMA windows). The MPI-1 routine MPI_Errhandler_set may be used but its use is deprecated. The predefined error handler MPI_ERRORS_RETURN may be used to cause error values to be returned. Note that MPI does not guarantee that an MPI program can continue past an error; however, MPI implementations will attempt to continue whenever possible.

MPI_SUCCESS: No error; MPI routine completed successfully.

MPI_ERR_COMM: Invalid communicator. A common error is to use a null communicator in a call (not even allowed in MPI_Comm_rank).

MPI_ERR_ARG: Invalid argument. Some argument is invalid and is not identified by a specific error class (e.g., MPI_ERR_RANK).

MPI_ERR_INFO: Invalid Info

MPI_ERR_SPAWN