Technologies and Issues for Virtual University

Given by Geoffrey C. Fox at HPDC95 Tutorial Pentagon City on August 1 1995. Foils prepared July 29,1995
Mixed HTML * Full HTML/GIF * Abstract * Foil Index for this file

See also color GIF

• This presentation sets the application (in this case education) backdrop for the HPDC95 Tutorial on the use of Web based technologies for education
  • i.e. for the Virtual School (K-12 classroom) and the Virtual University
• We assume that Living Textbook, Phy105/106 material (on-line screendumps) and InfoVision and WebServer discussions are also used
• We describe uses of NII/GII in education, relationships with edutainment, advantages of digital versus analog, overseas as well as U.S.A.. delivery, role of Geographical Information Systems, role of Interactive and other simulations
• We look at current as well as future Web Technologies and the implications for presentation of scholarly work and the curriculum

This table of Contents Abstract

• HPDC95 Tutorial
• Pentagon City
• August 1,1995
• Geoffrey C. Fox, Wojtek Furmanski
• 111 College Place
• Syracuse University
• Syracuse NY 13244-4100

• This presentation sets the application (in this case education) backdrop for the HPDC95 Tutorial on the use of Web based technologies for education
  • i.e. for the Virtual School (K-12 classroom) and the Virtual University
• We assume that Living Textbook, Phy105/106 material (on-line screendumps) and InfoVision and WebServer discussions are also used
• We describe uses of NII/GII in education, relationships with edutainment, advantages of digital versus analog, overseas as well as U.S.A.. delivery, role of Geographical Information Systems, role of Interactive and other simulations
• We look at current as well as future Web Technologies and the implications for presentation of scholarly work and the curriculum

• Application Specific NII Specific Services for
  • Education
  • HealthCare
  • Commerce
  • Manufacturing etc.

• A Set of Application domains and each with its own natural (interpreted) language manipulating domain-specific data structures. WebScript links the domains together
• Examples are:
  • PERL for world of Text (PERL includes C(++), UNIX shell and text processing Awk and Sed capabilities)
  • JAVA for constructing browsers
  • VRML is data structure for 3D objects which are viewed by VRML viewers
  • WebHPF is Interpreted distributed High Performance Fortran used in CFD simulation, structures etc. (for ASOP)
  • Web AVS is Web implementation of AVS(Khoros) and can be used for coarse grain software integration
  • WebASOP is designed to translate between different disciplines (uses some version of PDES/STEP product specification data structures) and link all the 10,000 different programs/expert systems etcx.

• Desktop Publishing and Productivity Tools in WebWindows (WebTop Productivity/Publishing)
  • Webmail, WebWord, WebLOTUS123, WebPersuasion etc.
• InfoVision: Delivery on Demand of Information from:
  • Digital archives of latest CNN, Reuters and network video
  • 100,000 hours of archives of video from last few years requiring some 100 terabyte of storage
  • Simulations of expected lake effect snow storm in Syracuse
  • This is storage, search and dissemination of multimedia Digital libraries
• Commerce -- digital Cash and signatures with appropriate authentication and security. Enables both Web Commerce (shopping) and use of Web for proprietary information

• Interactive and "batch" Collaboration
  • Desktop Video conferencing to 3 dimensional graphic MOOs -- these lead to full televirtual interactions
  • White boards etc.
  • Collaboratories -- Geographically distributed Laboratories
  • Workflow and configuration controlled databases
  • This leads to Software Engineering on the Web
• Metacomputing -- the collection of world wide computers as a coordinated (in subgroups of computers) computational engine (for simulation or information processing)
  • Includes control of remote medical and scientific instruments
  • Searching the world for Information
  • Running a coarse grain decomposed simulation between ASOP sites around world

• This is distributed databases for supporting cost effective healthcare with less fraud, better use of existing information for establishing care-plans etc
• This is collaboration, remote instrument control for telemedicine
• Could be full televirtuality for virtual-reality controlled remote surgery in battlefield or accident scenarios

• This is basis of Virtual University and NII can be expected to be much more succesful than videosystems because interactive, collaborative, explorative and full multimedia information at student and teachers fingertips
• Base of Distance Education is InfoVision for full interactive curricula
  • Note hyperlinking is as important as multimedia as allows student controlled exploration in richer fashion than old fashioned sequential books
  • Geographic Information Systems allows the general virtual field trip
• Rich Collaboration environments including televirtual MOO's for student-student and student-teacher interactions

• InfoVision is "successor" to TV with any multimedia information delivered on demand( choice from infinite number of channels)
• Community Networks will define local societies and will have significant impact on local government
• Shopping on the Web will include multimedia digital yellow pages , Commerce, online catalogs (which is InfoVision again) as well as perhaps powerful VR interfaces where you can try out new clothes and cars
• Collaboration (gossip as in computer forums) could be an important and dominant use but perhaps not initial major one

• OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) such as approving and recording credit card transactions. This is a type of InfoVision and Commerce which is operational today
  • Has major security and reliability demands but undemanding on computer and network
• Decision Support varies from fraud detection, inventory planning and market segmentation for optimizing shopping by mail
• Decision support can vary from search of a single giant relational database to galaxy-wide search of heterogeneous distributed database
• Workflow Support as in LOTUS Notes integrates Collaboration, Project Management and Distributed Databases. This supports ongoing distributed enterprise -- this is also essential in collaboratory

• Critical feature is realtime, "come as you are" adaptive linked computers and people
• Judgement support extends decision support into an "exploratorium" scenario as crises tend to be unexpected
• Major need to search community and government databases for immediate information on resource location and availability etc. Metadata(summaries) essential
• Collaboration between commander in field , specialized anchor desks (domain experts) and those in field.
• User Interface essential as user will be tired and searching unfamiliar data
• Geographical Information Systems and browsing multiple video sources (InfoVision again) will be critical as judgements will depend critically on spatial data.

• This is future model for (inter)national distributed research
• Rich Collaboration environment essential as collaborative research requires nontrivial person to person interactions
• Searching distributed databases basis of much scholarly work (infoVision and Digital Library)
• Metacomputing for multidisciplinary, multi-institutional simulations and for control and data storage and analysis from remote instruments whether satellites, telescopes, accelerators etc.
• Distributed (people) Software Engineering support for production of distributed computing software
• Needs workflow support as distributed enterprise

• Critical feature is closely integrated collaboration of very many people and computers requiring
• Metacomputing Simulation and distributed database support as in Collaboratory
• Workflow support including configuration management and central CAD databases
• Rich collaboration environment to support distributed design decisions
• Standards and Security to allow interlinking of people and software from different organizations
• Key special requirement is distributed coordination

• A set of manufacturing companies -- Rockwell International, Northrop Grumman, McDoinnell Douglas, General Electric and General Motors is studying the NII implications for a particular MAD system "Affordable Systems Optimization Process" (ASOP)
• Interesting parameters are that next major aircraft to be built could involve:
  • 6 major companies and 20,000 smaller supplier subcontractors
  • Number of engineers involved is about:
    • 50 at conceptual design
    • 200 at preliminary design
    • 2000 at final design
    • upto 10,000 in manufacturing and development
  • The design could involve upto 10,000 separate programs running in small linked clusters which vary from
    • Airflow simulation around plane to
    • expert system to plan location of inspection port to minimize maintenance costs
  • Critical is configuration management and system database

• Living Schoolbook -- Prototype of K-12 Educational Environment of year 2000
  • ATM delivery to K-12 schools from NPACÕs Multimedia Information Servers
  • Collaboration between NYNEX, State Schools, NPAC and SyracuseÕs School of Education
• HPDC95 Tutorial and Other Computational Science Courses CPS600, CPS615
  • On-line Presentations
  • Links to other documents such as Parallel Computing Works
  • On-line Demonstrations of WebTools, Java, Parallel databases, Web Search etc.
  • On-line homework in linked CPS600 Course Server

• Physics 105/106 -- Science for the 21st Century (for non-Scientists) -- Some course modules built around Multimedia Information Systems
  • SETI --Search for Extra Terrestial Intelligence
  • Mind and Machines -- Involved on-line neural network simulations
  • PseudoScience and the Paranormal
  • Scientific Literacy, Imaging and Evolutionism versus Creationism under development
• This hyperlinked material accounts for about 10% Phy 105, 20% Phy 106 and expect to increase if success continues
  • Need caching locally and high speed local networks to support the 167 students in each class
  • Major Physics department commitment -- 3 faculty developing the 3 modules

• The Living Schoolbook is a New York State funded Initiative to create K-12 educational applications that exploit leading information technologies
• Living Schoolbook Base Educational Services are:
  • Interactive Multimedia Geographic Information System -- Virtual Field Trip --
  • New York State The Interactive Journey
  • Video Information on Demand
  • Cached Internet Resources
  • Telecollaboration in the classroom
  • Realistic (HPCC) Simulations on demand
• Living Schoolbook Leverages Information Technologies
  • Terabyte Databases
  • Parallel Supercomputers
  • Interactive Multimedia
  • High Speed Wide Area Networks

• The Project Team
  • Syracuse University School of Education
  • ColumbiaÕs Teachers College
  • NYNEX
  • NPAC
• Upstate Project Schools
  • Fowler High School, Syracuse NY
  • Rome Free Academy, Rome NY
  • Whitesboro Middle School, Whitesboro NY
• Downstate (New York City) Project Schools
  • PS126: The Ralph Bunch School
  • The Dalton School
  • School for the Physical City

• askERIC Educational Database for teachers with consultation
• The Discovery Channel -- Video Content Provider
• NewsBank -- Text Content Provider
• Reuters News Service
• Syracuse Language Systems -- Learn Foreign Languages on Demand
• TravelVenture -- Interactive travel information on Demand
• US Air Force Rome Laboratory -- InfoVision technologies
• WorldView Corp. : Interactive Client-Server Geographic Information System

• Video and Server Technology Network is prototype of Wire Service of future using Web Technology to service Mass Communications Industry
• Partner with this field (Newhouse School) to find out how to author on-line video and other multimedia material
• NYNET ATM network extended internally to allow linkage of NPAC to Newhouse School of Public Communications and University Electronic Media Production Unit
• Faculty and students -- the multimedia digital journalists of the future will use:
  • Archives stored on huge computers browsed at low (VHS) resolution but stored (delivered by wire server) at broadcast quality.
  • Browsing also using text interfaces (index to a clip of average length 15 seconds)
• Study Integration digital editing (AVID) technology of media field with digital web and powerful computer technology.
• Industrial partners from traditional print and analog video fields
  • CNN and Reuters
  • Manhattan Transfer Edit -- Video Post Production Company

• FLAG is an enterprise in which NYNEX Network Systems Company is a major (roughly 40%) investor.
• Current fiber link from U.K. to Japan (via Africa) is being constructed at an approximate $1.4B cost
• Natural Strategy is for Web Servers in U.S.A.. to deliver educational material via FLAG to Africa and Far East
• This would set up hierarchically as:
  • U.S.A.. to first offramps: Coastal Countries (in Africa)
  • Coastal Countries distribute information in cascade fashion to rest of continent
  • Download bulk educational material ONCE (standard caching scenario)
  • Use FLAG Interactively for exploration and for student-teacher Interaction
• Real-Time Compression critical for interactive use of FLAG as lines are costly -- note Internet is free but needs compression as overloaded ....

• Many students from these countries come to the U.S.A.. now but ...
  • There are many more who presumably would like a (U.S.A..) education but cannot afford trip and tuition.
  • The developing countries are setting up their own educational infrastructure which could be more attractive than trip to U.S.A..
• In Virtual University, one sets up a partnership between U.S.A.. and overseas University where key curricula and its delivery are provided over GII (Global Information Infrastructure of which FLAG is one example)
• High-end PCÕs should be included as possible Web server for Africa even we use SP-2, multi-processor SGI etc. as server in U.S.A.. University

• A NYNEX Joint Venture
• This shows fiber draping Africa with coast off ramps

• Caching can either be teacher driven (preselect material) or student driven as in computer paging
  • As education naturally has groups (a class) of over 20 students browsing related material one can expect caching to be very effective
• Caching helps with both bandwidth and ensuring students browse relevant and appropriate material
  • Experiments by NASA Langley find that 95% of material accessed by students is found in Cache -- implies that 28.8kbaud connection purchased by the school ÒactsÓ like a dedicated T1 line

• Datamine the WWW for resources relevant to K-12 Classroom
  • Kidsweb is our initial selection based on teaching experience at NPAC to eighth graders in Syracuse Area
  • This is NPACÕs most popular internet access point
• Selection by teachers provides high-value materials, efficiency in teacher preparation time and K-12 appropriate material
  • Note many schools do not provide Internet access due to (perception that) much inappropriate material
  • Teacher selection produces structure to students roaming Internet
• Could be useful to produce selections on CDROM for targeted application areas.

• We will need caching anyway for both the Global University and indeed general hierarchical Web Server/ InfoVision scenario
• Comparison with InfoVision and the Entertainment Analogy:
• Suppose Jurassic Park VI is released on the Hollywood NII Server
• Without Caching -- perhaps 20 million people will videodial Hollywood to get their simultaneous showings at 1.5 megabits/second each
  • Need Cross-section bandwidth across the US of about 15,000 gigabits/sec
• With Caching, average person will find new movie cached on local server only a few optical fiber miles away. Will reduce needed bandwidth by about a factor of 100 as must travel about 15 miles not 1500 miles to get movie.

• Computational Science is an interdisciplinary field that integrates computer science and applied mathematics with a wide variety of application areas that use significant computation to solve their problems
• Includes the study of computational techniques
  • Science and Engineering - Grand Challenges
  • Society and Business - National Challenge
• Includes the study of new algorithms, languages and models in computer science and applied mathematics required by the use of high performance computing and communications in any (?) important application
  • At interface of (applied) computer science and applications
• Includes computation of complex systems using physical analogies such as neural networks and genetic optimization.

• World Wide Web basics : HTTP,MIME, servers,clients
• PERL4 and object-oriented features in PERL5(to be finished)
• Wavelet and Other Compression Technologies
• Collaboration Technologies from MBONE to CLI
• ATM Networks with comparison with ISDN and traditional LAN
• Parallel Relational Databases and Web Integration
• Thread based Communication Environments
• Video servers and network management for good quality
• Parallel Web Servers (to be finished)
• Advanced Web Technologies -- agents, VRML, Java (to be finished)

• IMM is a Joint Program Set Up Between
  • School of Education
  • Engineering and Computer Science
  • College of Visual and Performing Arts
  • Newhouse School of Public Communications
  • School of Information Studies IST
• IMM could be cornerstone of proposed "Information Initiative"
• IMM degree involves 36 units -- 12 courses of which 6 are required
• Courses are divided into Four Tracks
• 6 required Courses are:
  • Proseminar: Overview of Field with 1-2 lectures per topic
  • 1 core course from each of 4 tracks
  • Capstone experience == project/thesis like activity done in teams

• Track1: Multimedia Systems and Tools -- this is
  • ECS/IST area
• Track 2: Multimedia Design and Applications -- this is
  • Newhouse/IST/Education
• Track 3: Aesthetics and Ethics in Multimedia -- this is
  • VPA
• Track 4: Management and Evaluation of Multimedia --
  • this is Newhouse/IST/Education
• Each track has a core required course and a set of introductory and advanced electives
• Student must take 6 electives -- one of which must be in each track

• Electives will be offerred at various times but basic cycle is summer to summer (1.3 year time)
• Summer: Proseminar
• Fall: Core course for Track 1: Multimedia Systems
  • and Tools
• Fall: Core course for Track 2: Multimedia Design
  • and Applications
• Spring: Core course for Track 3: Aesthetics and Ethics
  • in Multimedia
• Spring: Core course for Track 4: Management and
  • Evaluation of Multimedia
• Summer: Capstone Experience

• SImulation Track -- Graduate
  • CPS615 Overview of Simulation Track Computational Science
  • CPS713 Case Studies in Simulation Applications of Computational Science
• Masters in Computational Science built around these core copurses CPS615,713
• Simulation Track -- Undergraduate
  • CPS 311,312,313,314 Core Material and Laboratory with topics similar to CPS615/713
  • Senior Project CPS 451

• CPS 401/601 IMM 601 Multimedia Systems and Tools -- Core course for Track 1 of IMM degree
• CPS 403/703 Computational Science Elective: 1 Lecture a week -- rest Laboratory -- elective for IMM
• CPS 406/606 Introduction to Information technologies and Systems -- designed as elementary elective for IMM
• CPS 616 Overview of Information Track Computational Science -- advanced elective for IMM
• CPS 714 Case Studies in Information Applications of Computational Science -- advanced elective for IMM
• "Web Technology"/Information Track of Computational Science Masters built around CPS 616,703,714

• Certificate in Computational Science offered at Peking University and Harbin Institute of Technology Spring 1996 is a prototype of Syracuse University (ECS/NPAC) based extension school
• As Internet Connections to China are not guaranteed to be great(!) we will use Web Technology but assume that Electronic Course material will be packaged at NPAC(SU) in a Pentium PC running WindowsNT and Java
  • Possibly Oracle and Digital Video Server Support as well
  • Possibly RealAudio or similar digital audio
• This will be updated in batch mode by Syracuse -- China Connection
• Students in China will Interact with mentors in China and with NPAC via Internet (web and email)
• Project designed by Fox,Leskiw(NPAC), Xiaoming Li(Harbin and Peking visiting NPAC)

• Graduate Students -- initially 5 to 10 at each of 2 University
• 4 Courses -- each 10 1 hour lectures -- offered Spring 1996 over 20 week period
• ICPS 700: Introduction to Simulation Track of Computational Science
  • Parallel Architectures, Software, Grand Challenges, Parallel Algorithms (scaled back version of CPS615)
• ICPS 701: Parallel Programming Laboratory
  • Use of MPI to do real problems on a Cluster of Workstations/PC's
• ICPS710: World Wide Web Technology
  • Scaled back version of CPS616
• ICPS711: Web Programming
  • Laboratory companion course to ICPS700. Initially will use PERL4 and PERL5. Will feature Java or equivalent when status clearer

• Clients (such as Mosaic and Netscape) support browsing of hyperlinked documents but have no internal interactive/compute capability
• Servers read HTTP and deliver requested service to client
• HTML -- a document format supporting hyperlinks
• HTTP -- a Transport Protocol defining Interaction between Web servers and Clients

• MIME -- a data format allowing agent-like (extended email) communication
• CGI -- a standard interface allowing sophisticated server extensions
• PERL -- a rapid prototyping language(script) aimed at text and file manipulation
• Web Search engines such as YAHOO, HARVEST, WAIS -- early distributed database access technology supporting search and indexing
• net.Thread, WebTools, RealAudio are early Web Interactive services

• Relational databases -- Oracle,DB2 have Web Interfaces
• Collaboration from Console Units (PIctureTel, CLI), Desktop (SGI Inperson) to MOOs
• Compression from MPEG and Wavelet to host of proprietary solutions -- a faction of 20 to 200 saving in space and bandwidth
• Geographical Information Systems
• Security will enable commerce on the Internet -- essential for Defence as well

• ATM, ISDN, Wireless, Satellite will be hybrid physical implementation of NII
• CORBA, Opendoc, OLE, SGML, Hytime are critical file and document standards
• High Performance Multimedia servers to enable digital information delivery on demand
• Data transport from MPI/MSGWAY/PVM to AAL to CBR/VBR
• Windows95/NT -- the last of the the non social(Web) operating systems -- will follow dinosaurs(IBM mainframes) into extinction
• Personal Digital Assistants -- WebNewtons done right -- Telescript (agent based communication) and Magic Cap operating system

• - Digital Super
• Information Highway

• High Performance (Parallel) Computers on High Speed (ATM) Networks linked to clients at a network performance that supporting realtime Video at a resolution between VHS,HDTV .
• MPP's as Internet/Web/NII/GII Servers
  • NII/GII= National/Global Information Infrastructure
  • Supports Decisions by everybody in society
  • Consumers, Healthcare, Teachers, Schoolchildren, Business, Military,
• Dual-Use Philosophy must be extended to Multi-Use
  • Different applications must share services
• Standards must be used
  • from HPF/HPC++ in simulation arena to
  • to TCP/IP on ATM in networking
  • to parallel relational databases
  • to "Web" technology for multimedia

• Each of three components (network connections, clients, servers) has capital value of order $10 to $100 Billion

• InfoVision is ultimate "client-server" application
  • 108 clients -- each of which could be (small) servers -- in fact Web Technology will migrate to democratic "server-server" architecture
  • 104 large (~$10M) parallel servers -- each of which could have 1000 to 10000 nodes
• Democracy on the NII (Gore)
  • Everybody can access information on the NII
  • Everybody has equal opportunity to put information on the NII

• Web Servers use "Web Technology" to service World Wide Web and other forms of networked multimedia information

• Dr. Smith of SUNY Health Science Center demonstrates Telemedicine over ATM in area of pediatric cardiology
  There is a larger Better Quality Image available

• WebWindows -- the open nonproprietary operating system of future supplanting UNIX, Windows95/NT, Apple etc. -- manages with a single interface all machines either individually or collectively on the NII
• WebWork -- Implements Computing for both Simulation and Information underneath WebWindows -- the correct implementation of HPCC ideas such as HPF,MPI with pervasive technologies
• Personal Servers -- Newton was correct but too early. The Web is a server - server technology
• Televirtuality -- All Web Users are linked into a single virtual world

• Like UNIX or MS-DOS or Windows 3.1(NT,95), WebWindows is an operating system for a "computer"
• The "computer" is a metacomputer consisting of the 50,000 Webservers (currently--eventually hundreds of millions) on Internet for the World Wide Web
• WebWindows can also be used for the metacomputer (collection of heterogeneous networked computers) which is a business enterprise system
  • We consider such an application as a collection of Webservers where we use Web technology to manage business information system.
  • suprisingly many companies looking at Web as alternative to Lotus Notes
• WebWindows is a multi-client multi-server technology
  • Clients are Mosaic or Netscape and soon HotJava or better browsers
  • Servers are NCSA compatible HTTP servers with MUCH additional functionality coming from so-called CGI capability -- written in PERL or C++ typically

• This implies that we look at both Grand Challenges and National Challenges but we suggest this is not enough:
• WebWork Builds HPCC technologies on a broad not niche base starting at bottom (Web,PC's)
• not top (MPP's, Supercomputers) of computing pyramid

• Java -- an interpreted C++ like language (script) allowing fully interactive clients which execute applets. Has full set of classes to make clients such as HOTJava. Licensed by Netscape
• VRML -- a 3 dimensional HTML allowing universal description of physical objects and allowing interchange of virtual worlds, commercial product designs etc.
• PERL5 -- an extension of PERL4 with full object oriented characteristics and extended pointer(array) constructs -- allows construction of Web Software obeying good software engineering practices
• Multithreaded WebServers integrating current Web, Compute and digital multimedia delivery services -- future Enterprise Systems

• An example of HotJava applet that makes essential use of Java multithreading.
• Three different sorting algorithms are visualized on a single HotJava page.
• Each algorithm can be started independently or they can all run concurrently.
• Concurrent mode allows for real-time visual comparison of various algorithms and their performance.

• Latest results prepared for HPDC95 Tutorial August 1,1995

• A sample VRML page produced by Black Hole Simulation group at NCSA and displayed by SGI WebSpace, cooperating with Netscape Navigator.
• A set of 3D spaces related to gravity research is represented as Netscape icons and linked to the corresponding VRML worlds.
• WebSpace window displays one of these spaces -- a space-time diagram for two black hole collision ('Pair of Pants' diagram)

• WebTools -- Early NPAC Prototype of WebWindows Equivalent to Program Manager with Navigation, File manipulation, Mail
• WebDeskTop Publishing -- an early killer application under WebWindows supplanting Word, Wordperfect, LOTUS123 , Persuasion etc. Java allows clear powerful implementation.
• WebRDBMS -- Integration of Relational and Distributed databases with both agent based heuristics, formal indices and free text search
• Metadata -- Common attributes to allow integration and search of heterogeneous databases

• NPAC WebTools is a CGI-extended Web server that offers a HyperWorld based metaphor for organized content authoring and navigation, currently implemented in terms of the following tools: HyperWorld Manager, HyperWorld Navigator, On-Line HTML Editor, WebMail and CASE tools for HySource Worlds authoring.
• HyperWorld Manager offers database management support for the server document tree, integrated with browser GUI tools for remote file/document and directory/folder handling (create, destroy, copy etc.). The model assures concurrency control, atomicity and integrity of the document datatbase.
  • Compare to File Manager in MS(becomes Web)Windows and simple UNIX shell cp mv rm commands. Directory structure is (crude) database structure built into UNIX. WebWindows has much much more powerful natural database support.

• HyperWorld Navigator offers a consistent navigation metaphor.
  • Compare to UNIX directory structure and generalized cd
  • Compare to MSWindows Program Manager
• On-Line HTML Editor offers remote authoring support for documents, created by the HyperWorld Manager.
• WebMail offers the Web interface to the MH mailing system and initial support for collaborative forums.
  • Enables enhanced MH on all clients from PC's to Supercomputers ...
  • Will also integrate Oracle with WebMail (and WebTools) for very fast indexed and free text search
• CASE tools offer disciplined WebTools software development environment, integrated with the HyperWorld database.
  • Enabled by Integration of Computing, Software DEvelopment and Databases in WebWindows

• Latest results prepared for HPDC95 Tutorial August 1,1995

• Latest results prepared for HPDC95 Tutorial August 1,1995

• NPAC WebTools can be viewed as an instance of Web Productivity Tools (navigators, editors, databases), developed collectively by the Internet/Web community.
• We view these emergent open tools as central to develop and maintain Web based World-Wide Metacomputing.
• Software exchange and integration tools are urgently needed. Without it, 'pervasive Web' will become soon too complex to maintain and will be dominated by closed corporate products.
• One such attempt is made by the HySource CASE package in NPAC WebTools. So far, we developed HyPerl World (Screen 3) of the WebTools source code and we now integrate it with Java (Screen 4) in the form of HyJava World (Screen 5)
• These tools will evolve towardsVirtual Software Laboratory -- a collective distributed CASE framework for virtual corporation of WebWork developers.

• HyPerl World page, generated automatically by the WebTools CASE package, and integrating documentation with the source.
• More generally, we call by HySource the hypertext documentation with navigable source code included.
• Function calls and external variable references are 'blue' and point to the corresponding HySource pages.

• static, browser-oriented client
• data (information in a narrow sense) repository
• tedious to manage and update (HTML) files on the server side
• difficult to keep most updated data automatically --- modifies usually done by a human using word processor or editing tools
• A plain UNIX file system only supports primitive functions such as open,read/write and close.
  • More powerful operations on files are required for an information system which is supposed to provide information instead of raw data,
  • i.e., low-level data manipulation operators such as those provided in RDBMS: select, insert, update, commit, rollback,etc.
  • Meaningful data needs to be generated on-the-fly from raw data

• a non-universal, non-portable remote networking access to database server
• plain-text oriented, no multimedia
• nonstandard front-end browser (most are line-based)

• a powerful backend text searching engine supporting complex queries
• an efficient, reliable and sophisticated data management system supporting representation and organization of logical relationships among information entities
• a dynamic data processing engine, provided with opportunity for optimized searching performance in large information systems
• a time-dimension added HTML programming engine (see case study examples later)

• a transparent networking interface for remote database server access
• a universal GUI-based search interface for hypertext-added data retrieval
• a truly globally-shared data system for maximum information dissemination
• an integrated multi-media information system

• Produced by Gang Cheng April 1995
  There is a larger Better Quality Image available

• User-level WebWork metaphor is given by WebFlow -- a distributed dataflow model built in terms of WebWork modules and MIME object/document communication channels.
  • Think as Web versions of AVS or Khoros
• WebWork users will build and control distributed computing applications (compute-webs) using Web browsers based visual interactive editors and monitors.
• We are currently prototyping such WebFlow front-ends at NPAC using Java/HotJava model. WebWork modules are represented by Java threads (Screen 6) and visualized as interactive interconnected icons (Screen 7)

• Early prototype of AVS or Khoros like visual compute-web editor.
• Two interactive modes are supported:
  • a) module placement, and
  • b) module linking.
• In mode a), each click in the active editor window places a new module box there.
• In mode b), each click on module port generates links with all other modules.

• One current WebWork/WebFlow application, prototyped at NPAC, is Software Project Manager (Screen 8). Each software developer runs his/her WebTools server and uses HySource CASE tools. These servers are WWVM-connected to agent and manager servers. Agent server receives automatic notifications from developers servers on each software volume update, and uses customizable thresholds to decide when to fire a report to the manager or a deadline reminder to a developer.
• Software Project Manager tools contains a simple agent server that mediates between client/consumer ( here manager) and servers/producers (here developers).

• A front-end for the software project manager tool.
• Three types of modules are supported:
  • a) developers,
  • b) software agent,
  • c) project manager.
• Developer modules are linked to the agent module and report automatically all changes in the software volume (handled by WebTools CASE toolkit integrated with WebTools editor).
• The agent module integrates the results and uses customizable threshold to decide when to fire a report to the manager or a deadline reminder to a developer.

Northeast Parallel Architectures Center, Syracuse University, npac@npac.syr.edu