Senior Project - codeHilt

Tech-X Corporation combines object-oriented software, CORBA and grid-based middleware, simulation and modeling, and massively parallel computing expertise to assist customers in solving the most difficult scientific problems. Many Tech-X customers require software tools that will model and simulate real-world science applications. Currently the Tech-X simulation product, VORPAL, has a text-based input which requires users to create complex 3D environments in a coordinate-based format. There was a need for a CAD system that would allow users of VORPAL to create their environments using an interactive graphical approach.

This software, programmed in Java, provides a 3D view of a simulation space represented by "slabs". A slab will represent a physical rectangular object with properties specified by the application user. The system consists of two parts: an application program interface (API) and an interactive application. The API provides the programmer with methods to create and remove slabs, as well as methods to manipulate the properties of slabs, such as slab position, size and type. The programmer is also able to control the view of the slabs via methods to rotate, translate and zoom the model and to control viewing attributes such as background color and visibility of a coordinate grid. The application, which is built on top of the API, provides an interactive means for performing all of the functionality provided by the API.