Title: The RStatServer Project

Abstract: 

The RStatServer project is an effort to develop software infrastructure
which enables statisticians to easily develop and deploy custom web applets
which enable scientists to use appropriate statistical and computational
methods. Our approach aims to maximize the penetration of proper statistical
methods while minimizing the cost of development, deployment, and
maintenance. This presentation will show the development of the current
RStatServer system, including 'RSOAP', which provides remote access to R via
the SOAP protocol, and the R interface to the Zope web application
development environment.  Time permitting, I will provide a brief demo of
the current technology.  

We are now working to develop "Chaco", the next-generation replacement of
the "RSOAP" layer.  Chaco provides an abstraction layer for providing and
servicing computations.  In addition to providing tools for computational
methods discovery and execution, it provides a complete specification of the
computational tool in a machine-readable form.  When combined with
appropriate 'plug-ins' this simplifies connection of UI clients to
computational modules regardless of the specific tools used to implement
either layer.