Editing Portal:HPC - High Performance Computing (section)

=== OpenMP and OpenMP::Simple ===

'''OpenMP''' is one of the major shared-memory programming models in HPC. The OpenMP project describes the OpenMP API as supporting multi-platform shared-memory parallel programming in C, C++, and Fortran, with a portable and scalable model for systems ranging from desktops to supercomputers.<ref>OpenMP, “About OpenMP,” https://www.openmp.org/, accessed July 3, 2026.</ref>

Perl does not use OpenMP in the same direct way that C or Fortran does, because OpenMP is normally expressed through compiler directives in compiled languages. However, Perl can still benefit from OpenMP in several ways:

* calling OpenMP-enabled C or C++ code through XS, FFI, or Inline::C;
* using OpenMP-enabled numerical libraries underneath Perl modules;
* generating or wrapping compiled code that uses OpenMP;
* coordinating OpenMP executables from Perl workflow scripts;
* experimenting with hybrid Perl/C approaches.

A modern Perl-specific effort in this area is '''OpenMP::Simple'''. MetaCPAN describes `OpenMP::Simple` as a wrapper around `Alien::OpenMP` that provides helpful C macros and runtime C functions.<ref>MetaCPAN, “OpenMP::Simple,” https://metacpan.org/dist/OpenMP-Simple, accessed July 3, 2026.</ref>

`OpenMP::Environment` also notes that `OpenMP::Simple` aims to make it easier to bootstrap Perl + OpenMP programs and that the work favors the GNU OpenMP implementation.<ref>MetaCPAN, “OpenMP::Environment,” https://metacpan.org/pod/OpenMP%3A%3AEnvironment, accessed July 3, 2026.</ref>

OpenMP::Simple is historically interesting because it tries to make OpenMP approachable from the Perl side instead of treating OpenMP as something entirely outside Perl. It fits a larger pattern: Perl can host, generate, configure, and invoke compiled high-performance code while retaining Perl’s convenience for the surrounding program.