MPI31

MPI-3.1, often written MPI-3.1 or MPI31, is a minor revision of the Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard released by the MPI Forum in 2015. It follows MPI-3.0 and serves as an updated version of the MPI-3 family, aimed at improving clarity, correctness, and portability while maintaining compatibility with MPI-3.0.

Scope and purpose: MPI-3.1 defines the standard interfaces for parallel programming across distributed memory systems, with some support for shared memory. It covers routines for point-to-point and collective communication, datatype handling, synchronization, and process management. The document primarily provides editorial corrections, errata fixes, and clarifications to the MPI-3.0 specification, ensuring more precise semantics and better portability across implementations.

Key features and context: The MPI-3.1 revision sits atop the features introduced in MPI-3.0, including nonblocking and persistent communication, neighborhood and extended collective operations, and enhanced one-sided communication (remote memory access). MPI-3.1 reinforces these capabilities through corrected wording and consistent behavior definitions, contributing to more reliable interoperability among MPI implementations.

Implementation and adoption: Major MPI implementations, such as MPICH, Open MPI, and Intel MPI, provide support for MPI-3.1. Adoption typically involves using MPI-3.0-compatible code with the assurance that the clarified semantics and corrected behaviors align across compliant systems. While 3.1 does not introduce large-scale new features, it serves as a standardized reference for ensuring consistency and reducing ambiguity in MPI-based software.

Relation to future work: MPI-3.1 acts as a bridge within the MPI-3.x lineage, creating a stable base for subsequent revisions and ongoing enhancements in the MPI ecosystem.