VCME: A Visual Interactive Environment for Computational Modeling Systems z Yongmao Cheny Terence R. Smith Yuan-Fang Wang Amitabh Saran Department of Computer Science University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA g e-mail: fyongmao, smithtr, yfwang, saran @cs.ucsb.edu Work supported in part by NASA grant NAGW-3888. y Work supported in part by NASA grant NGT-30159. z Currently working at Hewlett Packard-ISO, India. Email :
[email protected] 1 Abstract In previous work, we have described the concept of a computational modeling system (CMS) that is based on a comprehensive conceptualization of scientific modeling activities. A CMS involves an integrated computational modeling environment (CME), that embodies this conceptualization and in which a scientist may carry out, at an appropriate level of abstraction, any operation involved in the process of symbolic model construction. The key contribution of the current paper is the translation of the CME into graphic terms and, in particular, the design and implementation of a visual language for supporting the top-down construction of scientific models. We describe the design and implementation of a visual CME (VCME) for our CMS. The VCME supports the construction and use of representations of any modeling concept that a scientist may require in the iterative process of building symbolic models of phenomena. In particular, the VCME supports a new computational approach to the top-down construction of computational models. The flowchart editor, which is the main component of the user interface in supporting such constructions, also supports the bottom-up process of model construction. A unique feature in our system is its ability to provide generic support for resources under a standard, coherent framework that makes easy integration of arbitrary sets of data and tools, distributed over the network, and provide support for their interoperability at the CME level.