Controller for sequential programming tools executed in a parallel computing environment

A controller (210) for controlling a plurality of sequential tools (2201, 2202, . . . , 220n), such as dbx debuggers (dbx tools), operating in a parallel computing system. The controller executes each of these sequential tools on an individual node (2451, 2452, . . . , 245n) of a parallel computing system (100). The controller associates each tool with a particular process (2301, 2302, . . . , 230n) of a user program executing on a particular node. Typically, each tool accumulates specific performance characteristics of its associated process as data and transfers the data to the controller for ultimate display to a programmer. In particular, the controller in combination with various dbx tools operating on various nodes in the parallel computing environment produces a parallel program debugger (pdbx). As pdbx, the controller sends commands to particular nodes to control the operation of each dbx tool executing on that particular node. Additionally, nodes can be grouped together to permit pdbx to simultaneously send commands to a group of nodes and effectuate group control of multiple dbx tools.