Newsgroups: comp.parallel.mpi
From: Lawrence Lau <ll@maths.uq.oz.au>
Subject: Re: MPI & Java.
Organization: CIAMP
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 12:11:20 -0700
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Message-ID: <31D2DCD8.41C6@maths.uq.oz.au>

Bijal C. Modi wrote:
>   I have been working on an idea of combining MPI and Java to develop
> a processor independent graphical visualization tool that lets a user
> control, monitor and track (visualize) the output through his/her Web
> Browser for an application that runs on distributed computers using
> MPI. The idea is simple : use MPI for distributed computing, and Java
> for network based visualization (of output, resource usage etc.) using it's
> support for Native methods integration. The three major advantages of this
> approach are:
> 
> * comprehensive network independent visualization tool (e.g. could be
>   used on any computer where a Web browser is available)
> * seamless integration to the native methods that use MPI for distributed
>   computing
> * anybody with proper authorization can run/analyze an application that's
>   being executed over the network thus promoting distant collaboration.
> 
>   I would like to invite creative suggestions for this idea and the need
> for such development.
In terms of concepts it is similar to what already been done by Robert Haimes 
in his pV3 application (http://raphael.mit.edu/pv3/pv3.html). He uses group
process under PVM to view CFD results. Using MPI and Java for control and
accessing the data is actually the easy part. The hard part is defining the
data structure, type, dimensionality, etc that are viewable, creating the
EFFICIENT visualisation algorithms (non-trivial) under Java, and generalising 
it for polymorphic data streams. If you can restrict your problem domain to a 
particular field it may be simpler. If you're looking at collaborative 
visualisation environments, I suggest you do some research on packages such
as CSpray (http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/research/slvg/cspray.html), XCollage
(http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/XCollage/collage.html) and Envision
(http://www.atmos.uiuc.edu/envision/envision.html) are trying to do. There's
some very interesting working coming out on NCSA on their Habanero project
(http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Habanero/HabaneroHome.html) that might
be useful. As for networked visualisations that is a major topic by itself
and you might be finding yourself overtaken with the technology such as 
proposed by the X Consortium in their Broadway technology.


As soon as I finish writing up my thesis, I'll be putting extracts detailing
these topics on the web ...

Regards,
Lawrence

