Legacy Computing Markup Language (LCML) and LEGEND -- LEGacy Encapsulation for Network Distribution

Abstract

The rapid increase of computing power and emergence of distributed computing technologies such as Grid computing create new opportunities for scientific computing. One of the challenges faced in harnessing the emerging computational power is how to effectively use traditional command-line driven "legacy" codes within a networked framework; and a related challenge is how to make the operation of such codes a more user-friendly process. In this work a specification for an XML-based Legacy Computing Markup Language (LCML) is developed. This language can be used to create a parametized encapsulation of command-line driven codes and their associated files. Such an encapsulation can then be viewed and edited with a program developed to process LCML descriptions. The program LEGEND (LEGacy Encapsulation for Network Distribution) is under development as a Java implementation of such a program. LEGEND demonstrates that a validating graphical user interface can automatically be generated from an LCML description. Some issues related to the encapsulation of legacy programs and use of LCML and LEGEND are discussed, as well as the possibilitites for the integration of these technologies with Sun Grid Engine (SGE) and Globus software.