Cactus: Issues for Sustainable Simulation Software

Authors

  • Frank Löffler Center for Computation and Technology Louisiana State University
  • Steven R Brandt Center for Computation and Technology and Department of Computer Science, Louisiana State University
  • Gabrielle Allen University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Erik Schnetter Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Canada, Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada, and Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5334/jors.au

Keywords:

frameworks, scientific computing, software sustainability

Abstract

The Cactus Framework is an open-source, modular, portable programming environment for the collaborative development and deployment of scientific applications using high-performance computing. Its roots reach back to 1996 at the National Center for Supercomputer Applications and the Albert Einstein Institute in Germany, where its development started. Since then, the Cactus framework has witnessed major changes in hardware infrastructure as well to its community. This paper describes its growth through these changes and, drawing upon lessons from its past, also discusses future challenges for Cactus.

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Published

2014-07-09

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Issues in Research Software

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2014 The Author(s)

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