POET (Parallel Object-Oriented Environment and Toolkit) and frameworks for scientific distributed computing

Frameworks for parallel computing have recently become popular as a means for presenting parallel algorithms as reusable components. Frameworks for parallel computing in general, and POET in particular, focus on finding ways to orchestrate cooperation between objects implementing parallel algorithms. POET seeks to be a general platform for scientific parallel algorithm components which can be modified, linked, "mixed and matched" to a user's specification. The paper centers on the characteristics that allow these components to cooperate, and at the same time, remain "black boxes" that users can drop into the frame without having to know the intricate details of message passing, data layout, etc.