Developing Scientific Tools for the HUBzero Platform

The HUBzero™ Platform supports simulation and modeling activities for nanoHUB.org, thermalHUB.org, pharmaHUB.org, and many other web sites. Any standard desktop tool that runs under Linux/X11 can be deployed on a hub in a matter of hours. Other batch-oriented simulation codes that don't have a graphical interface can be deployed as well. A graphical interface for such codes can be created by using the Rappture Toolkit within HUBzero.

Here's how it works. Say you have an old Fortran code that you use in your research. The code requires some input values, runs for a few minutes or a few hours, and spits out a bunch of output tables in files. You can use the Rappture Toolkit to create a graphical interface for this code by writing a description of the inputs/outputs for the tool in an XML file. Your tool will access these input/output values by calling functions in the Rappture application programming interface (API). Rappture's API supports a variety of programming languages, so it doesn't matter whether your tool is written in C/C++, Fortran, MATLAB, Python, Perl, Ruby, or Tcl. You can embed the Rappture calls within your tool, or create a wrapper script that wraps around your tool, leaving it untouched. Either way, users will see a simple, graphical interface where they can enter input values, press the "Simulate" button, and visualize the outputs as line graphs, contour plots, 3D isosurfaces, molecules, and more. They can run your tool again and again, and explore your model within a large parameter space.

Workshop Details

This 1-day, hands-on workshop will teach you:

1. How to create scientific simulation tools using the Rappture toolkit
2. How to deploy the tools on a site powered by HUBzero

Seats are limited, so register as early as possible.

For further information, please contact:
  Anurag Shankar
  ashankar@iu.edu
  812-325-8629