Metadata subsetting framework

The amount of research data online is growing exponentially, scattered across a multitude of locations and stored in various formats on a wide variety of platforms. The value of metadata which assists us in determining the relevance, location, and accessibility of data and related research, has become correspondingly more important. Although there are a number of international standards that govern the format and structure of metadata in specific disciplines, the complexity of these standards makes it difficult for data owners and clearinghouses to create and manage metadata effectively. The Metadata Subsetting Framework is a system that allows metadata clearinghouses to define a subset of a metadata standard, containing the fields most relevant to the specific domain. The system automatically generates an interface specifically customized for the subset, with capabilities for validating user inputs against constraints expressed in the subset. Implemented as a collection of Java components, the system produces a complete in-memory representation of XML Schema documents expressing the structural and data constraints of a subsetted metadata standard. A knowledgeable user builds the subset by manipulating these constraints via a web-based interface. Subsetting makes the metadata entry process easier and less error-prone, thereby improving the quality of metadata.Keywords: Subsetting, Metadata subsetting framework, Metadata standar

A visual programming tool for Fortran D

Visual Fortran D (VFD) is a graphical tool to assist parallel programmers in specifying data distributions. Its target is Fortran D, an extension to Fortran77 or Fortran90 which supports data parallelism. VFD provides an intuitive framework where the user employs simple, fast graphical manipulations to specify how data is to be organized for distribution across multiple processors. The corresponding Fortran D statement is generated automatically from the graphical representation and displayed alongside it. Initial experimentation by users indicates that VFD improves the accuracy of data distributions. The ability to observe how a specification statement varies as the graphical representation is changed appears to make VFD a useful tool for teaching Fortran D concepts well

Applying Human Factors to the Design of Performance Tools

Abstract. After two decades of research in parallel tools for performance tuning, why are users still dissatis ed? This paper outlines the human factors issues that determine how performance tools are perceived by users. The information provides insight into why current performance visualizations are not as well received as they should be | and what must be done in order to develop tools that are more closely aligned to user needs and preferences. Speci c mechanisms are suggested for improving three aspects of performance visualizations: how the user explores the performance space, how the user compares di erent aspects of program behavior, and how the user navigates through complex source code. 1 The Performance Tuning Problem For over two decades, a great deal of research e ort has been directed at tools for improving the performance of parallel applications. Signi cant progress has been made, as can be seen by comparing some of the surveys of parallel tools from that time period [22, 23, 2]. Why, then, are parallel performance tools stil

Exploiting Visualization and Direct Manipulation to Make Parallel Tools More Communicative

Abstract. Parallel tools rely on graphical techniques to improve the quality of user interaction. In this paper, we explore how visualization and direct manipulation can be exploited in parallel tools, in order to improve the naturalness with which the user interacts with a parallel tool. Examples from recent tool research demonstrate that tool displays can be made more communicative and more intuitive touse. Visualization methods can be used to organize complex performance data into layers and perspectives that exploit the user's visual searching capabilities. Direct manipulation techniques allow the user to focus on key elements and then transition smoothly to further levels of detail or interrelated aspects of program behavior. Heuristics derived from studies with parallel users are proposed for when and how the techniques can be applied more e ectively.

Final Report: Task Force on requirements for HPC software: Guidelines for specifying HPC software, June 1, 1997 - August 31, 1999

This document describes the results of a task force convened to determine what types of system software and tools were sufficiently important to warrant implementation across multiple vendors and machine types. The group included representatives from a wide range of user sites, as well as from the software development groups at vendor sites. Together, they established key software requirements, identified priorities for different types of user organizations, and formulated the requirements into language suitable for direct inclusion in procurements and requests-for-bids. The report is structured into four sections. The first discusses the formation and objectives of the task force and the processes used to arrive at consensus. Part 2 outlines the group's assumptions about how software will be specified on RFPs for parallel and clustered computers. In the next section, a tabular summary describes the requirements and the priority rank that was assigned to each. Part 4 presents the wording that is recommended for specifying each software element. Examples of how the requirements might be applied for various RFP scenarios, are in the appendices, which also provide vendor estimations of the level-of-effort required to develop and supply each requirement. The task force was sponsored by the Parallel Tools Consortium and the National Coordination Office for Computing, Information, and Communication. It was funded by grants from DoD HPC Modernization Program (NAVO Major Shared Resource Center), US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, NASAS Ames Research Center, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Improving the usability of numerical software through user-centered design

The software interface C whether graphical, command-oriented, menu-driven, or in the form of subroutine calls C shapes the user's perception of what software can do. It also establishes upper bounds on software usability. Numerical software interfaces typically are based on the designer's understanding of how the software should be used. That is a poor foundation for usability, since the features that are "instinctively right " from the developer's perspective are often the very ones that technical programmers find most objectionable or most difficult to learn. This paper discusses how numerical software interfaces can be improved by involving users more actively in design, a process known as user-centered design (UCD). While UCD requires extra organization and effort, it results in much higher levels of usability and can actually reduce software costs. This is true not just for graphical user interfaces, but for all software interfaces. Examples show how UCD improved the usability of a subroutine library, a command language, and an invocation interface. Improving the Usability of Numerical Software through User-Centered Design A "build it and they will come " mentality has dominated the design of scientific software for some time. It is increasingly clear, however, that this attitude is responsible for the failure of many software systems. Software users are no longer willing to put up with products that are difficult to learn or use [7]