From stand-alone programs towards grid-aware services and components: a case study in agricultural modelling with interpolated climate data

We identify three key issues to be taken into account when designing the next generation of software environments for agricultural modelling. There is a burgeoning need to support collaborative research in a search for answers to big research questions, to integrate the work of data providers and model developers and to provide more generic systems. We describe the concepts of software design of a framework, designed with these points in mind, which facilitates the integration of point-based agricultural models with methods to interpolate climate data. Our approach allows the inter-working of model and interpolation through Fortran functions that are invoked from a central framework. We advocate that the framework code remains open to collaborators, such that it may be adapted to different classes of application, whilst recognising that some module developers need to retain their control on individual elements of the software. The rationale presented within the paper continues a major move away from the stand-alone programs that still dominate agricultural models and interpolation methods. Secondly, the paper considers how these approaches are extendable to exploit opportunities in the emerging Web Service and Grid context. The emerging technology of the Grid allows geographically distributed resources in hardware, software, data and network to be co-ordinated to meet the needs of “virtual organisations.” We explore how the modularity of our existing code can be exploited in the Grid environment, whilst noting the pre-requisite of a co-operative culture in which both software developers and data providers seek to deliver services to the widest possible community of users.