Interactive Python Shell for jAliEn

Abstract

Computing Grids are collections of interconnected computing resources used to solve large computational problems. These resources are used by the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) Collaboration, ALICE being one of the four main experiments at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN, for the transfer, storage and analysis of experimental data. Grids are managed by Grid middleware. jAliEn is the grid middleware developed by the ALICE Collaboration and is in the process of replacing the old grid middleware AliEn (ALICE ENvironment). This thesis investigates how an interactive CLI (Command Line Interface) written in python which communicates with the jAliEn central services can be created and whether or not the resulting solution is a viable alternative/replacement of the old client(jShell). For this purpose, criteria were outlined to determine what constitutes an interactive CLI, the resulting prototype was then compared to jShell to determine if the solution could be considered viable.