Methodologies for the Parallelization, Performance Evaluation and Scheduling of Applications for the Cloud-Edge Continuum: From Design Principles to Experimental Validation

The Cloud-Edge Continuum represents a complex computational environment where data processing must be dynamically distributed between localized edge devices and centralized cloud resources. This paper presents the results of the MPESACC project, proposing an end-to-end framework enabling the automatic transformation of sequential Python code into distributed workflows. Our approach introduces a directive-based programming model utilizing Python decorators to define computational intent, constraints, and data dependencies without refactoring the underlying logic. This metadata drives a static analysis and scheduling engine that employs a Constrained Heterogeneous Earliest Finish Time (HEFT) algorithm to optimize resource allocation. Furthermore, the framework integrates CLOWNSim (Cloud Workloads Naive Simulator), a discrete-event tool designed to evaluate hierarchical deployment strategies and loop-based algorithmic expansion. Experimental results demonstrate that this adaptive scheduling approach can reduce execution time by up to 55% compared to monolithic edge execution, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in distributed environments.