Panel session: Future directions and challenges for Java implementations of numeric-intensive industrial applications

This panel session focuses on utilization of Java for numeric-intensive applications, including the advantages and disadvantages of Java for future use with industrial independent software vendor (ISV)-based finite element methods (FEM) codes. Discussion will address both partial use of Java and/or complete code implementation; activities in this area are already in progress and have been reported by the Java Grande Forum (see http://www.javagrande.org). Some of the issues that will be discussed by the panelists and audience include: performance comparisons of Java, Fortran, C, and C++; primary deficiencies of Java with respect to future development of competitive commercial ISV-based FEM codes; Java standardization bottlenecks; strategies for transitioning to Java from existing large legacy commercial codes; current and future numeric-intensive benchmarks: actions to improve Java floating-point performance. This session is represented by biographical sketches of the panel participants, their individual reflections on the panel theme, and a list of related Internet references.