TOWARDS WEB-BASED COMPUTING

Abstract

In a problem solving environment for geometric computing, a graphical user interface, or GUI, for visualization has become an essential component for geometric software development. In this paper we describe a visualization system, called GeoJAVA, which consists of a GUI and a geometric visualization library that enables the user or algorithm designer to (1) execute and visualize an existing algorithm in the library or (2) develop new code over the Internet. The library consists of geometric code written in C/C++. The GUI is written using the Java programming language. Taking advantage of the socket classes and system-independent application programming interfaces (API's) provided with the Java language, GeoJAVA offers a platform independent environment for distributed geometric computing that combines Java and C/C++. Users may remotely join a "channel" or discussion group in a location transparent manner to do collaborative research. The visualization of an algorithm, a C/C++ program located locally or remotely and controlled by a "floor manager", can be viewed by all the members in the channel through a visualization sheet called GeoJAVASheet. A chat box is also provided to enable dialogue among the members. Furthermore, this system not only allows visualization of pre-compiled geometric code, but also serves as a web-based programming environment where the user may submit a geometric code, compile it with the libraries provided by the system, and visualize it directly over the web sharing it with other users immediately.