The encapsulation of legacy binaries using and XML-based approach with applications in ocean forecasting

Abstract

This thesis presents an XML-based approach for the encapsulation of legacy binaries. A method that utilizes XML documents to describe the various parameters and settings for the compilation and execution of an encapsulated binary is discussed. The binary is treated as a black-box component and the XML description for that binary contains relevant restrictions, such as input and output files and runtime parameters read in from the standard input stream. The proposed XML schema design constrains the aforementioned XML descriptions of binaries. The usage parameters for the binaries are expressed by such XML documents. A prototype system is then able to take any of these schema-conforming XML descriptions and display the relevant user controls in a graphical user interface (GUI). Instead of editing obscure script files, the user can make changes to build-time and runtime parameters for a binary using the presented system interface. After validating the user inputs, the system generates the required script files automatically and proceeds to compile and/or execute the binary. The Primary Equation Model binary of the Harvard Ocean Prediction System (HOPS) was successfully encapsulated using the presented approach. The customization and control of the binary's compilation and execution through a GUI was achieved.