Extending the concept of component interfaces

Abstract

In the component approach, components are said to interact through well-defined interfaces. Conventionally, these interfaces are based on method signatures which define the syntax, if not the semantics of the interface. However in many cases, this does not encompass all of the interactions a component has with its peers. In the Integrated Plasma Simulator (IPS), a framework for coupled simulation of fusion plasmas developed by the Center for Simulation of RF Wave Interactions with Magnetohydrodynamics (SWIM), we find that components interact through files and through an event service in addition to the usual method calls. In this report, we discuss the motivations for the design of the IPS and our experience with it. We further consider whether the concept of a component interface needs to be extended, and how it might be done.

Integrated modeling applications for tokamak experiments with OMFIT

“…As part of this collaboration we have interfaced OMFIT with the Integrated Plasma Simulator (IPS) [5,[28][29][30]-a computational framework developed at ORNL that enables inter-operabililty of application codes on massivelyparallel computers. IPS was originally developed as part of the SciDAC Center for Simulation of Wave Interactions with Magnetohydrodynamics (SWIM) project [5].…”