Cyberaide JavaScript: A JavaScript commodity

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a service oriented architecture and Grid abstraction framework that allows us to access Grids through JavaScript. Obviously, such a framework integrates well with other Web 2.0 technologies. The framework consists of two parts. A client Application Programming Interface (API) to access the Grid via JavaScript and a mediator service and API through which the Grid access is channeled. The framework uses commodity Web service standards and provides extended functionality such as asynchronous task management, file transfer, and workflow management based on our previous work. The availability of our framework simplifies not only the development of new services, but also the development of advanced client side Grid applications that can be accessed through Web browsers. We demonstrate this ability by providing an example that integrates a variety of useful services to be accessed through a JavaScript enabled client desktop via a Web browser. Overall, Grid developers will have another tool at their disposal that projects a simpler way to distribute and maintain cyberinfrastructure related software, while simultaneously delivering advanced interfaces and integrating social services for the scientific community.