Computer as Thinker/Doer: Problem-Solving Environments for Computational Science
IEEE Computational Science & Engineering
From Scientific Software Libraries to Problem-Solving Environments
IEEE Computational Science & Engineering
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A problem-solving environment is a software system that provides all the computational facilities necessary to solve a target class of problems. These facilities include advanced solution methods, automatic and semi-automatic selection of solution methods, and ways to incorporate novel solution methods. Moreover, a problem-solving environment uses the natural language of the target class of problems so that users can try to solve them without specialized knowledge of the underlying hardware or software. By exploiting modern technologies such as interactive color graphics, powerful processors, and networks of specialized services, scientific problem-solving environments can track extended problem-solving tasks and allow users to review them easily. Ideally, they create a framework that is all things to all people; they solve simple or complex problems, support rapid prototyping or detailed analysis, and can be used in introductory education or at the frontiers of science.