WAMM in the framework of graphical user interfaces for metacomputing management

Current environments for metacomputing generally have tools for managing the resources of a metacomputer but often lack adequate tools for designing, writing, and executing programs. Building an application for a metacomputer typically involves writing source codes on a local node, transferring and compiling codes on every node, and starting their execution. Without such tools, the application development phases can come up against considerable difficulties. In order to alleviate these problems, some graphical user interfaces (GUIs) based on PVM, such as XPVM, Parallel Application Development Environment (PADE) and Wide Area Metacomputing Manager (WAMM) have been implemented. These GUIs integrate a programming environment which facilitates the user in performing the application development phases and the application execution. This paper outlines the general requirements for designing GUIs for metacomputing management, and compares WAMM, a graphical user interface, with some related works.