Library construction
In Earth Environment Observation many information processes are held. According to each process content, we make processing programs and organize them systematically. Each system often shares common processes such as input/output of data, format transformation, solving equation based on Newton method, and various matrix operations. We can develop a more effective system by organizing these processes as modules which can be utilized commonly and by making libraries.
The more our libraries are used by users, the more valuable they become. In order to make a contribution to scientific development, we need to think how to distribute our research achievements efficiently and how to use them easily.
In our laboratory, we manage these study subjects and join the OpenCLASTR which is a collaborative project with researchers all over the world.
Study of programming technique
To make modules there are a lot of obstacles we should solve. For example, when we make a program which does a certain job (we call the program “subroutine”), the program needs to be of a form which is easily applied to other systems. Therefore, the program consists of processes completed in their subroutines, and is written in a plain description easily understood by other users. We call this completion level module strength . If the module strength is low, one is forced to modify subroutines many times in order to use them in other programs.
While it is relatively easy to make modules strength of subroutines high, processing speed would get slow. To consider both aspects and to develop smarter programs is one of researches in our study.
Study of library construction and product distribution
We call collective many subroutines “a library”. As we continue to study for long years, many subroutines are put on record in the libraries.
Let us suppose that a certain researcher makes processing programs consisting of some subroutines and wants someone to use them. In that case, the researcher can distribute a whole library containing unnecessary subroutines. But he can make smaller packages containing only necessary subroutines.
To make distribution packages in only a few steps is one of our researches.
