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This Survey selects from talks on InfoMall95, InfoVision95, NIIkids, CompSci, NPACDBover, WebWindows
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Initially we survey NPCC and NII technology status including National Programs
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We briefly describe NPACÕs capabilities and mission
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The survey of NII sets National telecommunications scene and Introduces InfoVision
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An execiting technology prospect is highlighted by the WebWindows Concept
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We describe education from two points of view
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Technologies that will change the way education can be delivered
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New educational programs for tomorrows evolving interdisciplinary world
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Finally we describe a few additional activities of NPAC
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This Survey selects from talks on InfoMall95, InfoVision95, NIIkids, CompSci, NPACDBover, WebWindows
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Initially we survey NPCC and NII technology status including National Programs
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We briefly describe NPACÕs capabilities and mission
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The survey of NII sets National telecommunications scene and Introduces InfoVision
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An execiting technology prospect is highlighted by the WebWindows Concept
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We describe education from two points of view
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Technologies that will change the way education can be delivered
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New educational programs for tomorrows evolving interdisciplinary world
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Finally we describe a few additional activities of NPAC
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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 .
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MPP's as Internet/Web/NII/GII Servers
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NII/GII= National/Global Information Infrastructure
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Supports Decisions by everybody in society
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Consumers, Healthcare, Teachers, Schoolchildren, Business, Military,
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Dual-Use Philosophy must be extended to Multi-Use
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Different applications must share services
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Standards must be used
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from HPF/HPC++ in simulation arena to
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to TCP/IP on ATM in networking
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to parallel relational databases
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to "Web" technology for multimedia
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"Every" Business Office, Every doctor's Office, "Every" school desk, "Every" home(potential patient) (approximately any home on cable) will have a two-way high speed link to the NII
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about 10 Megabits/second compared to
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about 10 Kilobits/second for a modem (14.4 kbit/sec)
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What does this factor of 1000 increase in performance do for the home?
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TV + Settop Unit becomes Computer (analog) (interactive digital)
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Modem & home PC supporting text interfaces becomes interactive full (VHS Þ HDTV resolution) video receiving unit
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Interactive implies that you can choose what you want when you want it.
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These consumer developments will drive MPP use
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consumer products drives better high end business and research user level products e.g., cheap Virtual Reality Interfaces
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MPP's are information servers for consumers, business, research
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Web browser becomes now a 'hot' desktop application. Software vendors are working on embedded Web support within conventional desktop applications.
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WebWindows is an opposite idea.
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WebWindows is an idea that the Web itself will evolve towards the leading computing paradigm integrating desktop computing and Internet services.
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Evolving Web browsers, cooperating with evolving Web servers will gradually take over the role and functionality of many other desktop applications.
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A "Virtual Microsoft", i.e. the Internet Hackers' community will collectively develop WebWindows as an open, public and modular distributed operating system for the Internet.
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These COLLECTIVE efforts will lead to phase transition taking passive Mosaic/HTTP to full blown OS of immense power
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Technically, WebWindows has some aspects similar to X Windows (client-server) and NeWS/Display PostScript (interpreted). However, the Web model is higher level than X and simpler/more open than NeWS/DPS.
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Clients interprets MIME, servers interpret HTTP. Both protocols are currently very simple and extensible -- MIME via new types, HTTP via new methods. These extensions is a slow process, under control of Internet RFC and STD documents.
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Additionally, both clients and servers functionality is extensible via CCI (Common Client Interface) and CGI (Common Gateway Interface) mechanisms. These extensions are MUCH easier and safer than changing existing conventional operating systems and so useful for prototyping and experimenting with new ideas.
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A revolution in Operating System Research -- we can all do it!
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CCI is still platform-dependent and not a finished design. CGI is rather stable (although only ~1 year old!) and the base of most current dynamic extensions (including NPAC work on WebTools).
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We refer to X Windows, NeWS and Display PostScript as to the first generation distributed interpretative client-server models.
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We view the current WWW as the second generation technology -- it is client-multiserver and based on very simple telescripting (HTTP/MIME scripted or interpreted communication).
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With dynamic Web extensions, we are now starting the third generation systems which will be multiclient-multiserver (collaboratory), will include agents (such as Telescript, Safe-Tcl) and will evolve towards increased interactivity and televirtuality.
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In fact, the most attractive current MIME extension effort -- VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) develops 3D extension of HTML in terms of some ~40 new data structures (VRML Nodes) that will offer soon (mid '95) "3D clickable imagemaps" composed of distributed objects that are downloaded/telescripted and locally rendered in the real-time.
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WebWindows will allow integrated support of National and Grand Challenges and so give HPCC large pervasive opportunities.
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The resulting third generation phase transition expected soon on the Internet will create new markets for HPCC to provide real-time distributed simulations for the NII
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Anticipating these events, we pursue a Web software development effort at NPAC that develops dynamic WebTools for interactive content management, authoring and navigation.
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NPAC WebTools can be viewed as seeds towards WebWindows. Based on our early involvement, we expect to position NPAC as one of the focal and coordination sites in the WebWindows development process.
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Current WebTools (discussed below and demonstrated in the poster/demo session) are based on pervasive/vanilla Internet technologies: Forms based GUIs at the browser side, CGI/Perl based server side databases and computation.
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We now start integrating these base WebTools with NPAC HPCC technologies (HPF, parallel Oracle, ATM, ISDN) towards WebWindows based high quality NII services.
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The technological foundation of this integration is a CGI-extended Web server that combines quality electronic hypermedia publishing with HPCC computation.
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WebWork constructs that implement it are: WWVM discussed above, VSL (Virtual Software Laboratory) and HPFCL (HPF Coordination Language).
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WWVM is like a complete software environment, including hardware (Web+CGI servers), software (locally published modules) and documentation (conventional Web pages).
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VSL is a collection of Web CASE Tools to prototype WWVM components such as: standardized software publication interfaces; Perl5 class editors and browsers; and HPFCL language bindings.
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HPFCL allows to specify and run complete applications on the WWVM. We discuss HPFCL and its WebHPL extensions later on. But first we describe our first simple WWVM pilot project -- how to break security of Bank of England...
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RSA security systems based on numbers
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RSAm = Prime1 * Prime2
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A product of two large primes
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RSAm has m decimal digits
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RSA corporation recommends m>=200
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Bank of England and English Savings and Loan based on m=155 (512 binary digits)
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RSA129 cracked by factoring with email team using sophisticated version of Quadratic Sieve. RSA155 will use better Number Field Sieve
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Need x2 = y2 mod(RSAm) as then gcd(x+y,RSAm) likely to be interesting factor
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Find x and y by finding lots of interesting a's
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a = product of small primes = b2 mod(RSAm)
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Given these a's factored into primes, multiply together so powers of primes are even. This gves desired x
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This last step requires graph theory and solution (for Bank of England) of 5 million linear equations
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RSA155 requires about 300 teraops hours to solve with NFS
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RSA129 needed about an order of magnitude less time. Can be done today faster if use Number Field Sieve
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We have roughly one to five million independent calculations which form the rows of matrix (after clever graph theory manipulates and combines)
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Set of master servers publish problem to solved with suitable demos, description of algorithm and full marketing attention.
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Clients download software, run tests and certify with test case.
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Clients pick the set of a's they hope to do in a week
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PC's pick the smaller numbers needing less memory and CPU power
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Cray's pick the largest hardest numbers
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Clients return results -- not so easy except by email and cut and paste
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Best done as a set of cooperating servers where server performing factorization publishs it solution as a file on the WWW.
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Cooperating servers also better for computer administrators as can control set of clients at a given site
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Initially use humans but replace by agents when software ready
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In WebWork, we also propose an interpreter of HPFCL -- High Performance Fortran Coordination Language, which will support coarse grain distributed HPF computation. Compiled HPF modules, published on individual nodes of the WWVM, will be easily invoked by HPFCL scripts, integrated with GUI front-ends (such as Khoros etc.) and employed in collective computation on the WWVM.
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In WebHPL we further explore the concept of interpreted HPCC language environments and we propose an object-oriented Web based parallel programming environment supporting HPF and C++ for distributed metacomputing.
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WebHPL, or Web based High Performance Languages, is our most ambitious project in the area of Web and HPCC integration. It addresses both base software engineering and applications, and it refers both to backend and frontend layers of language compilers and interpreters, seeking a uniform programming model for interactive HPCC.
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WebHPL is a hybrid Compiled/Interpreted environment with a more or less seamless use interface.
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We use compilers or optimized message passing in the local environments where low latency hardware benefits from careful optimization.
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We use interpreters where flexibility and power (e.g. fault tolerance) of agent approach beneficial and performance overhead in software matches intrinsic lower performance of hardware.
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We expect that our two-prong approach in WebHPL, attacking the problem both from the full compiler and the full interpreter perspective, will result in an interesting software engineering framework, 'scalable' along the compiler<--->interpreter axis.
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The interpolation mechanism along this axis is provided in terms of domain specific "little languages" that are interpreted but operate on compiled modules. UNIX shell, Perl or Tcl are examples of sequential little languages. WebHPL will develop parallel analogs.
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The WebHPL project specifies a software process that will result in a uniform HPF and HPC++ interpretative environment, offering a base HPCC infrastructure for WebWindows.
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We already prototyped and demonstrated at SC'93 a minimal HPF interpreter, based on NPAC F90D compiler front-end and the MOVIE interpreted agent back-end. In WebHPL, we will also address parallel and distributed C++ specification and interpreter development.
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HPC++ language model is not yet fully defined as C++ is larger, more complex language model than Fortran and there is no obvious subset to start from as it was the case with HPF.
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Therefore, rather than approaching the problem from the language perspective, we will adopt the applications perspective. Selected HPCC application domains will be analyzed and the existing parallel C++ class libraries will be inspected by the formal language analysis tools developed within WebHPL to extract domain specific "little languages" that effectively parametrize a given domain.
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Computer, Telephone, and Cable Engineers
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Journalists from both print, photography, and video fields
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Artists, Advertising designers, Architects, Film Producers, ÒBookÓ Publishers etc.
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Real Estate Brokers
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School Teachers, Librarians, Government and Business workers involved with giving information to public or fellow workers
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Shop owners and staff advertising their wares on digital highway.
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Allow woodworkers in Adirondacks or heart of Africa to advertise material to all on the World Wide Web
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All those in medical area -- from Virtual reality to allow surgeon in Syracuse to manipulate robot devices at accident scene to Multimedia patient records
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Law enforcement (police searching worldwide databases) and lawyers accessing case histories.
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Video Games include travel through race courses (Crash and Burn)
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or through ÒMystical WorldsÓ as in Donkey Kong or for the new generation of PC games such as MYST
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Other PC edutainment systems such as Oregon Trail and Carmen San Diego provide Òadventure/knowledgeÓ filled journeys through sort of the real world
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NASA, USGS and other sources (such as Russia) provide digital terrain data which can be used to provide totally realistic Òflight simulationsÓ
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Current widely available 3D data has 10 to 30 meter resolution but even now, Synthetic aperture radar sensors are being tested which can be flown in a plane and give horizontal and vertical resolution of around 1 meter.
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The software to implement this is called a Geographical Information System (GIS)
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We do not know what are the killer applications of either the general or education specific NII.
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Correspondingly we cannot say firmly how to set up specific servers or networks of the same
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We have some mix of General, Specialized, Public and Private InfoVision Servers
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Web Technologies such as HTML,HTTP,CGI,Java .. established the open multimedia interface which will enable an industry to be set up
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This is analogous to IBM PC and DOS enabling the personal computer industry although this revolution will not be dominated by a single company such as Microsoft as networking assets (World Wide Web resources) are inherently produced in a distributed fashion
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An important driver is the growing use of CDROM's with multimedia PC's the largest segment of Home PC market
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Further educational products are hot sellers
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Abstract * Foil Index for this file
See also color IMAGE
Secs 99
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