Extending the concept of component interfaces: experience with the Integrated Plasma Simulator

ABSTRACTIn the component approach, components are said to interact through well-defined interfaces. Conventionally, these interfaces are based on method signatures which define the syntax, if not the semantics of the interface. However in many cases, this does not encompass all of the interactions a component has with its peers. In the Integrated Plasma Simulator (IPS), a framework for coupled simulation of fusion plasmas developed by the Center for Simulation of RF Wave Interactions with Magnetohydrodynamics (SWIM), we find that components interact through files and through an event service in addition to the usual method calls. In this report, we discuss the motivations for the design of the IPS and our experience with it. We further consider whether the concept of a component interface needs to be extended, and how it might be done.