pArange

pArange is a term used in some programming libraries to denote a parallelized variant of a range generation function. In practice, it aims to produce a sequence of numbers similar to the standard arange or range utilities, but with the generation and/or storage performed in parallel across multiple processing units. Because there is no single standard definition, the exact behavior of pArange varies by language and library.

Common characteristics include accepting parameters such as start, stop, and step, and returning an iterable or array of numbers. Some implementations produce a lazily evaluated sequence, while others allocate a concrete array in memory. Ordering guarantees also vary: many implementations preserve ascending order, while others focus on maximizing throughput and may require an explicit sorting step if order is important. Floating-point steps can introduce rounding nuances just as in arange.

Implementation approaches typically use thread pools, SIMD, or distributed tasks to fill the output. Users should consider overhead from parallelization, memory usage, and thread-safety, especially for small ranges where the cost may exceed the benefit. pArange is most useful in numerical computations, simulations, or data generation workflows where large ranges are needed and multi-core processing is available.

See also arange, range, parallelism libraries, and parallel algorithms.