This volume contains the proceedings of an ESPRIT Advanced Course entitled Future Parallel Computers held in Pisa, June 9-20, 1986. Interest in parallel computers has shown a dramatic increase in recent years. In the last six years, after Japan launched its national Fifth Generation Project to develop parallel computers for use in the 1990s, most other major industrial countries have started comparable national research programmes. For example, a significant proportion of the European Community's $1.3 billion ESPRIT Programme is devoted to future parallel computers. The competition between the national research programmes, to develop a new generation of computers, has been a catalyst for parallel computer development. In addition, many new parallel computer products are beginning to appear on the market. The 15 chapters of these proceedings are arranged in three parts: Firstly, tutorials on the main classes of parallel computers are presented; secondly, these classes of computers are illustrated by examining important parallel systems being developed; and lastly, important topics that influence all classes of parallel computers are studied in depth.
