An on-line performance visualization technology

A new software technology for on-line performance analysis and the visualization of complex parallel and distributed systems is presented. Often heterogeneous, these systems need capabilities for the flexible integration and configuration of performance analysis and visualization. Our technology is based on an object-oriented framework for the rapid prototyping and development of distributable visual objects. The visual objects consist of two levels, a platform/device-specific low level and an analysis- and visualization-specific high level. We have developed a very high-level markup language called VOML and a compiler for the component-based development of high-level visual objects. The VOML is based on a software architecture for on-line event processing and performance visualization called EPIRA. The technology lends itself to constructing high-level visual objects from globally distributed component definitions. Details of the technology and tools used, as well as how an example visual object can be rapidly prototyped from several reusable components, are presented. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.