IVORY - An object-oriented framework for physics-based information visualization in Java']Java

We present IVORY, a newly developed, platform-independent framework for physics-based visualization. IVORY is especially designed for information visualization applications and multidimensional graph layout. It is fully implemented in Java 1.1 and its architecture features client-server setup, which allows to run the visualization even on thin clients. In addition, VRML 2.0 exports can be viewed by any VRML plugged-in WWW-browser. Individual visual metaphors are invoked into IVORY via an advanced plug-in mechanism, where plug-ins can be implemented by any experienced user. The configuration of IVORY is accomplished using a script language, called IVML. Some interactive visualization examples, such as the integration of an haptic interface illustrate the performance and versatility of our system. Our current implementation supports NT 4.0.(1)