Obvious: a meta-toolkit to encapsulate information visualization toolkits. One toolkit to bind them all

This article describes “Obvious”: a meta-toolkit that abstracts and encapsulates information visualization toolkits implemented in the Java language. It intends to unify their use and postpone the choice of which concrete toolkit(s) to use later-on in the development of visual analytics applications. We also report on the lessons we have learned when wrapping popular toolkits with Obvious, namely Prefuse, the InfoVis Toolkit, partly Improvise, JUNG and other data management libraries. We show several examples on the uses of Obvious, how the different toolkits can be combined, for instance sharing their data models. We also show how Weka and RapidMiner, two popular machine-learning toolkits, have been wrapped with Obvious and can be used directly with all the other wrapped toolkits. We expect Obvious to start a co-evolution process: Obvious is meant to evolve when more components of Information Visualization systems will become consensual. It is also designed to help information visualization systems adhere to the best practices to provide a higher level of interoperability and leverage the domain of visual analytics

Database Systems - Present and Future

The database systems have nowadays an increasingly important role in the knowledge-based society, in which computers have penetrated all fields of activity and the Internet tends to develop worldwide. In the current informatics context, the development of the applications with databases is the work of the specialists. Using databases, reach a database from various applications, and also some of related concepts, have become accessible to all categories of IT users. This paper aims to summarize the curricular area regarding the fundamental database systems issues, which are necessary in order to train specialists in economic informatics higher education. The database systems integrate and interfere with several informatics technologies and therefore are more difficult to understand and use. Thus, students should know already a set of minimum, mandatory concepts and their practical implementation: computer systems, programming techniques, programming languages, data structures. The article also presents the actual trends in the evolution of the database systems, in the context of economic informatics.database systems - DBS, database management systems – DBMS, database – DB, programming languages, data models, database design, relational database, object-oriented systems, distributed systems, advanced database systems

Factors shaping the evolution of electronic documentation systems

The main goal is to prepare the space station technical and managerial structure for likely changes in the creation, capture, transfer, and utilization of knowledge. By anticipating advances, the design of Space Station Project (SSP) information systems can be tailored to facilitate a progression of increasingly sophisticated strategies as the space station evolves. Future generations of advanced information systems will use increases in power to deliver environmentally meaningful, contextually targeted, interconnected data (knowledge). The concept of a Knowledge Base Management System is emerging when the problem is focused on how information systems can perform such a conversion of raw data. Such a system would include traditional management functions for large space databases. Added artificial intelligence features might encompass co-existing knowledge representation schemes; effective control structures for deductive, plausible, and inductive reasoning; means for knowledge acquisition, refinement, and validation; explanation facilities; and dynamic human intervention. The major areas covered include: alternative knowledge representation approaches; advanced user interface capabilities; computer-supported cooperative work; the evolution of information system hardware; standardization, compatibility, and connectivity; and organizational impacts of information intensive environments

Encyclopedia of software components

Intelligent browsing through a collection of reusable software components is facilitated with a computer having a video monitor and a user input interface such as a keyboard or a mouse for transmitting user selections, by presenting a picture of encyclopedia volumes with respective visible labels referring to types of software, in accordance with a metaphor in which each volume includes a page having a list of general topics under the software type of the volume and pages having lists of software components for each one of the generic topics, altering the picture to open one of the volumes in response to an initial user selection specifying the one volume to display on the monitor a picture of the page thereof having the list of general topics and altering the picture to display the page thereof having a list of software components under one of the general topics in response to a next user selection specifying the one general topic, and then presenting a picture of a set of different informative plates depicting different types of information about one of the software components in response to a further user selection specifying the one component

Object Oriented Database Management Systems: Architecture and Application

The advent of multimedia computing, the World Wide Web, and objectoriented application languages has caused the proliferation of complex data types that must be managed differently from traditional character or numeric data types. Relational DBMS (RDBMS) can be modified with data extenders to support these complex new data types. Object DBMS (OODBMS), however, are designed specifically for these data types, and manipulate them with far greater efficiency. OODBMS perform direct navigation, clustering, schema evolution, and other functions that RDBMS cannot match. Adoption of common interoperable standards will facilitate the move towards open systems for heterogeneous, distributed platforms

Distributed Object Medical Imaging Model

Abstract- Digital medical informatics and images are commonly used in hospitals today,. Because of the interrelatedness of the radiology department and other departments, especially the intensive care unit and emergency department, the transmission and sharing of medical images has become a critical issue. Our research group has developed a Java-based Distributed Object Medical Imaging Model(DOMIM) to facilitate the rapid development and deployment of medical imaging applications in a distributed environment that can be shared and used by related departments and mobile physiciansDOMIM is a unique suite of multimedia telemedicine applications developed for the use by medical related organizations. The applications support realtime patients’ data, image files, audio and video diagnosis annotation exchanges. The DOMIM enables joint collaboration between radiologists and physicians while they are at distant geographical locations. The DOMIM environment consists of heterogeneous, autonomous, and legacy resources. The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), Java Database Connectivity (JDBC), and Java language provide the capability to combine the DOMIM resources into an integrated, interoperable, and scalable system. The underneath technology, including IDL ORB, Event Service, IIOP JDBC/ODBC, legacy system wrapping and Java implementation are explored. This paper explores a distributed collaborative CORBA/JDBC based framework that will enhance medical information management requirements and development. It encompasses a new paradigm for the delivery of health services that requires process reengineering, cultural changes, as well as organizational changes

A Manufacturing Execution System using Siemens\u27 PC Based Automation Technology

The focus of any manufacturing operation is to establish better yields, reduced cycle times, increase quality, and handle dynamic demand/resource fluctuations. Over the past few years many manufacturing companies have implemented Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and they have proved themselves to be successful in achieving these goals. However, real-time data is required in order to portray an accurate account of the day-to-day and/or hourly product manufacturing operations. Retrieval of this real-lime data is a challenging task. A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is a real-time information system that improves the performance of the shop floor operations by linking business planning, order entry, material management, purchasing and accounting to the controls on the factory equipment. Siemens\u27 PC-based automation technology is an emerging technology that appears to provide a robust architecture for integrating all elements of the manufacturing environment. Applications that range from simple control to distributed control and full-fledged MES can be developed using Siemens\u27 architecture. The primary focus of this thesis is applied research to facilitate the development of a Manufacturing Execution System to control a flexible manufacturing system, CAMCELL, using Siemens\u27 PC-based automation technology and Microsoft\u27s database technology. CAMCELL contains two CNC machining centers, assembly robots, and a vision system, all of which are interlinked by a material handling system. The software architecture of the CAMCELL is based on NIST\u27s five level hierarchy. Specifically, it contains functional modules for order entry, scheduling, and routing. In addition to these functional modules, there are various support modules. In this study, we have developed software architecture to achieve vertical integration of the process control layer, the MES layer and the ERP layer. Using Siemens\u27 WinCC software, real-time process data was collected and integrated into an MES database. The study demonstrates how order information stored in a high-level database is converted into useful information for the control layer. The study also demonstrates the ability of WinCC and Visual FoxPro to update the production data into the MES database. Various Operator interface and database screens are proposed for CAMCELL

Estimation of the physico-chemical parameters of materials based on rare earth elements with the application of computational model

Computational model, technique and the basic principles of operation program complex for quantum-chemical calculations of material's physico-chemical parameters with rare earth elements are discussed. The calculating system is scalable and includes CPU and GPU computational resources. Control and operation of computational jobs and also Globus Toolkit 5 software provides the possibility to join computer users in a unified system of data processing with peer-to-peer architecture. CUDA software is used to integrate graphic processors into calculation system