Cactus Framework
Encyclopedia
Cactus is an open-source, problem-solving environment
designed for scientist
s and engineer
s. Its modular
structure easily enables parallel computation across different architectures and collaborative code development between different groups. Cactus originated in the academic research
community, where it was developed and used over many years by a large international collaboration of physicist
s and computational scientist
s.
The name Cactus
comes from the design
of a central core (or "flesh") which connects to application modules (or "thorns") through an extensible interface. Thorns can implement custom developed scientific or engineering applications, such as computational fluid dynamics. Other thorns from a standard computational toolkit provide a range of computational capabilities, such as parallel I/O, data distribution, or checkpointing.
Cactus runs on many architecture
s. Applications, developed on standard workstation
s or laptop
s, can be seamlessly run on clusters or supercomputer
s. Cactus provides easy access to many cutting edge software technologies being developed in the academic research community, including the Globus Toolkit
, HDF5 parallel file I/O, the PETSc
scientific library, adaptive mesh refinement
, web interfaces, and advanced visualization
tools.
, and is now developed jointly at AEI
, Cardiff University
, and the Center for Computation & Technology at LSU
. There are several large packages built on Cactus, among others a general relativistic
spacetime
evolution code, an adaptive mesh refinement
driver (Carpet), and a general relativistic
hydrodynamics code (Whisky).
Staff with the LSU Center for Computation & Technology, who were part of the original group at AEI who created Cactus, celebrated the program's 10th birthday in April 2007.
Software framework
In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
designed for scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s. Its modular
Modularity (programming)
Modular programming is a software design technique that increases the extent to which software is composed of separate, interchangeable components called modules by breaking down program functions into modules, each of which accomplishes one function and contains everything necessary to accomplish...
structure easily enables parallel computation across different architectures and collaborative code development between different groups. Cactus originated in the academic research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
community, where it was developed and used over many years by a large international collaboration of physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
s and computational scientist
Computational scientist
A computational scientist is a person skilled in scientific computing. This person is usually a scientist, an engineer, or an applied mathematician who applies high-performance computers in different ways to advance the state-of-the-art in their respective applied disciplines in physics, chemistry...
s.
The name Cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
comes from the design
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
of a central core (or "flesh") which connects to application modules (or "thorns") through an extensible interface. Thorns can implement custom developed scientific or engineering applications, such as computational fluid dynamics. Other thorns from a standard computational toolkit provide a range of computational capabilities, such as parallel I/O, data distribution, or checkpointing.
Cactus runs on many architecture
Software architecture
The software architecture of a system is the set of structures needed to reason about the system, which comprise software elements, relations among them, and properties of both...
s. Applications, developed on standard workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
s or laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s, can be seamlessly run on clusters or supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
s. Cactus provides easy access to many cutting edge software technologies being developed in the academic research community, including the Globus Toolkit
Globus Toolkit
The Globus Toolkit, currently at version 5, is an open source toolkit for building computing grids developed and provided by the Globus Alliance.-Standards implementation:The Globus Toolkit is an implementation of the following standards:...
, HDF5 parallel file I/O, the PETSc
Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation
The Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation , is a suite of data structures and routines for the scalable solution of scientific applications modeled by partial differential equations. It employs the Message Passing Interface standard for all message-passing communication...
scientific library, adaptive mesh refinement
Adaptive mesh refinement
In numerical analysis, adaptive mesh refinement is a method of adaptive meshing. Central to any Eulerian method is the manner in which it discretizes the continuous domain of interest into a grid of many individual elements...
, web interfaces, and advanced visualization
Scientific visualization
Scientific visualization is an interdisciplinary branch of science according to Friendly "primarily concerned with the visualization of three-dimensional phenomena , where the emphasis is on realistic renderings of volumes, surfaces, illumination sources, and so forth, perhaps...
tools.
History
Cactus was originally developed at the AEIMax Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics is a Max Planck Institute whose research is aimed at investigating Einstein’s theory of relativity and beyond: Mathematics, quantum gravity, astrophysical relativity, and gravitational wave astronomy...
, and is now developed jointly at AEI
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics is a Max Planck Institute whose research is aimed at investigating Einstein’s theory of relativity and beyond: Mathematics, quantum gravity, astrophysical relativity, and gravitational wave astronomy...
, Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
, and the Center for Computation & Technology at LSU
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
. There are several large packages built on Cactus, among others a general relativistic
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
spacetime
Spacetime
In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Spacetime is usually interpreted with space as being three-dimensional and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort from the spatial dimensions...
evolution code, an adaptive mesh refinement
Adaptive mesh refinement
In numerical analysis, adaptive mesh refinement is a method of adaptive meshing. Central to any Eulerian method is the manner in which it discretizes the continuous domain of interest into a grid of many individual elements...
driver (Carpet), and a general relativistic
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
hydrodynamics code (Whisky).
Staff with the LSU Center for Computation & Technology, who were part of the original group at AEI who created Cactus, celebrated the program's 10th birthday in April 2007.
External links
- www.cactuscode.org — the Cactus Framework homepage
- Center for Computation & Technology
- Numerical relativity group at the Albert Einstein Institute
- www.carpetcode.org Carpet, an adaptive mesh refinement driver for Cactus
- www.whiskycode.org Whisky — the EU Network GR Hydrodynamics code
See also
- Application frameworkApplication frameworkIn computer programming, an application framework consists of a software framework used by software developers to implement the standard structure of an application for a specific development environment ....
- Software frameworkSoftware frameworkIn computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
- CactusCactusA cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
the plant - Embedded HTTP serverEmbedded HTTP serverAn embedded HTTP server is a component of a software system that implements the HTTP protocol. Examples of usage within an application might be:* To provide a thin-client interface for a traditional application.....
- Numerical relativityNumerical relativityNumerical relativity is one of the branches of general relativity that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems. To this end, supercomputers are often employed to study black holes, gravitational waves, neutron stars and many other phenomena governed by Einstein's Theory...