Parallel Programming: Cooperation

First, let me paraphrase something from my LiveJournal profile: These posts are my own, and in particular do not necessarily reflect my employer's positions, strategies, or opinions.

With that said, some say that the current geopolitical outlook is grim.  And far be it from me to minimize the present-day geopolitical problems, nor am I at all interested in comparing them to their counterparts in the "good old days".  But neither do I wish to obsess on these problems.  I will instead call attention to a few instances of global cooperation, current and past.

Last month, NASA's oldest active astronaut traveled to Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome, entered a Soyuz capsule atop a Roscosmos rocket and flew to the International Space Station. For me, this is especially inspiring: If he can do that at age 69, I should certainly be able to continue doing my much less demanding job for many years to come.

Some decades ago, during the Cold War, I purchased an English translation of Gradshteyn's and Ryzhik's classic "Table of Integrals, Series, and Products".  Although computer-algebra systems have largely replaced this book, I have used it within the past few years and I used it heavily in the 1980s and early 1990s.  Thus, along with many others, I am indebted to the longstanding Russian tradition of excellence in mathematics.

So just this past month, I was happy to receive hard copies of "Параллельное программирование – так ли это сложно?", which is a Russian translation of "Is Parallel Programming Hard, And, If So, What Can You Do About It?"  I would like to think that this might be a down payment on my aforementioned debt.

Many other countries have also made many excellent contributions to mathematics, science, and technology.  For example, the smartphone that I used hails from South Korea.  And earlier this year, SeongJae (SJ) Park completed a Korean translation of the Second Edition of "Is Parallel Programming Hard, And, If So, What Can You Do About It?"

Returning to rocketry, China started working with rockets in the 1200s, if not earlier, and has made a great deal of more recent progress in a wide variety of fields.  And rumor has it that a Chinese translation of the Second Edition will be appearing shortly.

So if you tried reading this book, but the English got in the way, you now have two other options and hopefully soon a third!  But what if you want a fourth option?  Then you, too, can do a translation!  Just send me a translated chapter and I will add it to the list in the book's FAQ.txt file.