A component-oriented software authoring system for exploratory visualization

This paper discusses the benefits of a component-oriented visual software authoring system that is based on open standards and provides the seamless integration of various software tools in a unified environment. It employs a visual component assembly paradigm for ease of construction, Java™ and JavaBeans™ component architecture for the open environment, and recursive development methods, all of which allow us to rapidly construct and share applications from independently developed components. Moreover, it is highly interactive and fully configurable at run-time in order to support exploratory visualization. This versatility has the potential to improve the integration of independently developed analysis tools and the dissemination of research findings.