A hierarchical programming model for large parallel interactive applications

This paper focuses on parallel interactive applications ranging from scientific visualization, to virtual reality or computational steering. Interactivity makes them particular on three main aspects: they are endlessly iterative, use advanced I/O devices, and must perform under strong performance constraints (latency, refresh rate). In this paper, we propose an application description language based on a data flow and hierarchical component model to cope with the complexity of parallel interactive applications. It enables us to define highly generic components, enforcing the application maintainability and portability. An implementation on top of the FlowVR middleware is presented.