Steven Thomas Hackstadt for the degree of Master of Science

in the Department of Computer and Information Science to be taken June 1994

Title: PROTOTYPING ADVANCED PARALLEL PROGRAM AND PERFORMANCE VISUALIZATIONS

Approved: __________________________________________ (Dr. Allen D. Malony)

A new visualization design process for the development of parallel program and performance visualizations using existing scientific data visualization software can drastically reduce the graphics and data manipulation programming overheads currently experienced by visualization developers. Data visualization tools are designed to handle large quantities of multi-dimensional data and create complex, three-dimensional, customizable displays which incorporate advanced rendering techniques, animation, and display interaction. These capabilities can be used to improve performance visualization, but to be effective, they must be applied as part of a formal methodology relating performance data to visual representations. Under such a formalism, it is possible to describe performance visualizations as mappings from performance data objects to view objects, independent of any graphical programming. Through three case studies, this work examines how an existing scientific visualization tool, IBM's Data Explorer, provides a robust environment for prototyping next-generation parallel performance visualizations.