jDSSAT: A JavaScript Module for DSSAT-CSM integration

Abstract The DSSAT is a collection of computer programs and tools integrated into a single software package in order to facilitate the application of crop simulation models in research and decision making. The DSSAT Shell, an user interface program, enables users to easily select and use any of the DSSAT components. It reads text files, both input and output with fixed width format, to provide information to the users and to be able to run the models. The logic to read DSSAT files and process the information to display to the user relies on the Shell itself and cannot be reusable by any other system, which makes it harder to implement alternatives for the DSSAT Shell since there are no frameworks available that implements the complexity of processing DSSAT files. The DSSAT tools were built using old programming technologies such Visual Basic which is in end-of-life support and Delphi, these technologies should be replaced for a modern and standardized software development approach for a better maintainability. Besides, these tools are stand-alone and they do not share code which increases the effort to maintain them. This work presents the jDSSAT, a multiplatform JavaScript module. The jDSSAT provides a standard and reusable approach for reading and processing DSSAT files. Through this approach, we isolate the complexity of processing DSSAT files to allow DSSAT integration on any environment. It also integrates with DSSAT-CSM to make it easier to run DSSAT models in Linux, Windows and MacOS. As a result, we present a multiplatform user interface prototype created to run DSSAT crop models using the main features of the jDSSAT. Also, the integration with the R environment that expands the possibilities of the DSSAT integration.