Language interoperability is a critical first step towards software interoperability
Software re-use is often hampered by language barriers
- DOE labs use many languages (f77, f90, C, C++, Java, Python)
- can be difficult for some languages to call others (f77 to C++)
We are developing IDL technology for interoperability
- interface definition language (IDL) describes calling interface
- tools automatically generate code to “glue” languages
A. Cleary, S. Kohn, S. Smith, B. Smolinski, Language Interoperability Mechanisms for High-Performance Scientific Applications, SIAM Interoperability Conference, 1998.