WOODSS and the Web: Annotating and Reusing Scientific Workflows
C. B. Medeiros, J. Perez-Alcazar, L. Digiampietri, G. Z. Pastorello Jr, A. Santanche, R. da S. Torres, E. Madeira, and E. Bacarin, SIGMOD Record, Estados Unidos, 34(3):18-23, September 2005.
Abstract
This paper discusses ongoing research on scientific workflows at the
Institute of Computing, University of Campinas (IC - UNICAMP)
Brazil. Our projects with bio-scientists have led us to develop a
scientific workflow infrastructure named WOODSS. This framework has
two main objectives in mind: to help scientists to specify and
annotate their models and experiments; and to document collaborative
efforts in scientific activities. In both contexts, workflows are
annotated and stored in a database. This ``annotated scientific
workflow'' database is treated as a repository of (sometimes
incomplete) approaches to solving scientific problems. Thus, it
serves two purposes: allows comparison of distinct solutions to a
problem, and their designs; and provides reusable and executable
building blocks to construct new scientific workflows, to meet
specific needs. Annotations, moreover, allow further insight into
methodology, success rates, underlying hypotheses and other issues in
experimental activities.
The many research challenges faced by us at the moment include: the
extension of this framework to the Web, following Semantic Web
standards; providing means of discovering workflow components on the
Web for reuse; and taking advantage of planning in Artificial
Intelligence to support composition mechanisms. This paper describes
our efforts in these directions, tested over two domains --
agro-environmental planning and bioinformatics.
Voltar
Last updated December 20, 2005.
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