20,533 research outputs found
Interprocess data transfer in ATLAS, a platform for distributed applications
The ATLAS platform strives to make several useful but technically involved mechanisms available to the programmer
building applications over it with the least possible effort. These mechanisms include network distribution of cooperating
processes, a powerful macro language, a journaling system and fault tolerance in the presence of network failures or node
crashes. In this paper we discuss the techniques used in ATLAS to implement data transfer over a network between
different machines with the least hassle to the programmer.Postprint (published version
Building National Forest and Land-Use Information Systems: Lessons from Cameroon, Indonesia, and Peru
This working paper examines the institutional, human resources, and financial capacities of three countries that have developed a forest and land-use information system, and highlights common enabling factors and challenges
Automatic code generation for ATLAS communications drivers
ATLAS is a software development platform created in our Department. Among other benefits, it provides support to easily
distribute applications over a network. In these applications, communications issues among the different processes should be
faced. Pursuing to isolate application developers from the intricacies of these issues, communication drivers are automatically
generated from an interface declaration of each process. This automatic code generation --not unlike the generation of stubs in
CORBA from the IDL specification-- is the main topic of this report.Postprint (published version
Open budget data: mapping the landscape
This report offers analysis of the emerging issue of open budget data, which has begun to gain traction amongst advocates and practitioners of financial transparency.
Issues and initiatives associated with the emerging issue of open budget data are charted in different forms of digital media. The objective is to enable practitioners – in particular civil society organisations, intergovernmental organisations, governments, multilaterals and funders – to navigate this developing field and to identify trends, gaps and opportunities for supporting it.
How public money is collected and distributed is one of the most pressing political questions of our time, influencing the health, well-being and prospects of billions of people. Decisions about fiscal policy affect everyone - determining everything from the resourcing of essential public services, to the capacity of public institutions to take action on global challenges such as poverty, inequality or climate change.
Digital technologies have the potential to transform the way that information about public money is organised, circulated and utilised in society, which in turn could shape the character of public debate, democratic engagement, governmental accountability and public participation in decision-making about public funds. Data could play a vital role in tackling the democratic deficit in fiscal policy and in supporting better outcomes for citizens
Reducing the Barrier to Entry of Complex Robotic Software: a MoveIt! Case Study
Developing robot agnostic software frameworks involves synthesizing the
disparate fields of robotic theory and software engineering while
simultaneously accounting for a large variability in hardware designs and
control paradigms. As the capabilities of robotic software frameworks increase,
the setup difficulty and learning curve for new users also increase. If the
entry barriers for configuring and using the software on robots is too high,
even the most powerful of frameworks are useless. A growing need exists in
robotic software engineering to aid users in getting started with, and
customizing, the software framework as necessary for particular robotic
applications. In this paper a case study is presented for the best practices
found for lowering the barrier of entry in the MoveIt! framework, an
open-source tool for mobile manipulation in ROS, that allows users to 1)
quickly get basic motion planning functionality with minimal initial setup, 2)
automate its configuration and optimization, and 3) easily customize its
components. A graphical interface that assists the user in configuring MoveIt!
is the cornerstone of our approach, coupled with the use of an existing
standardized robot model for input, automatically generated robot-specific
configuration files, and a plugin-based architecture for extensibility. These
best practices are summarized into a set of barrier to entry design principles
applicable to other robotic software. The approaches for lowering the entry
barrier are evaluated by usage statistics, a user survey, and compared against
our design objectives for their effectiveness to users
1st INCF Workshop on Sustainability of Neuroscience Databases
The goal of the workshop was to discuss issues related to the sustainability of neuroscience databases, identify problems and propose solutions, and formulate recommendations to the INCF. The report summarizes the discussions of invited participants from the neuroinformatics community as well as from other disciplines where sustainability issues have already been approached. The recommendations for the INCF involve rating, ranking, and supporting database sustainability
Network Neutrality: A Research Guide
The conclusion in a research handbook should emphasise the complexity of the problem than trying to claim a one-size-fits-all solution. I have categorised net neutrality into positive and negative (content discrimination) net neutrality indicating the latter as potentially harmful. Blocking content without informing customers appropriately is wrong: if it says ‘Internet service’, it should offer an open Internet (alongside walled gardens if that is expressly advertised as such). The issue of uncontrolled Internet flows versus engineered solutions is central to the question of a ‘free’ versus regulated Internet. A consumer- and citizen-orientated intervention depends on passing regulations to prevent unregulated nontransparent controls exerted over traffic via DPI equipment, whether imposed by ISPs for financial advantage or by governments eager to use this new technology to filter, censor and enforce copyright against their citizens. Unraveling the previous ISP limited liability regime risks removing the efficiency of that approach in permitting the free flow of information for economic and social advantage. These conclusions support a light-touch regulatory regime involving reporting requirements and co-regulation with, as far as is possible, market-based solutions. Solutions may be international as well as local, and international coordination of best practice and knowledge will enable national regulators to keep up with the technology ‘arms race’
ROOT Status and Future Developments
In this talk we will review the major additions and improvements made to the
ROOT system in the last 18 months and present our plans for future
developments. The additons and improvements range from modifications to the I/O
sub-system to allow users to save and restore objects of classes that have not
been instrumented by special ROOT macros, to the addition of a geometry package
designed for building, browsing, tracking and visualizing detector geometries.
Other improvements include enhancements to the quick analysis sub-system
(TTree::Draw()), the addition of classes that allow inter-file object
references (TRef, TRefArray), better support for templated and STL classes,
amelioration of the Automatic Script Compiler and the incorporation of new
fitting and mathematical tools. Efforts have also been made to increase the
modularity of the ROOT system with the introduction of more abstract interfaces
and the development of a plug-in manager. In the near future, we intend to
continue the development of PROOF and its interfacing with GRID environments.
We plan on providing an interface between Geant3, Geant4 and Fluka and the new
geometry package. The ROOT GUI classes will finally be available on Windows and
we plan to release a GUI inspector and builder. In the last year, ROOT has
drawn the endorsement of additional experiments and institutions. It is now
officially supported by CERN and used as key I/O component by the LCG project.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 5 pages, MSWord, pSN MOJT00
- …