The Data and Information Application Layer (DIAL) ACCESS project uses plug-in technology to add NASA data visualization and access tools to the Adobe Director™ multimedia application authoring environment. This means that, with a little additional work, stand-alone data-rich applications can be authored as easily as any other software authored using Director™.

Under the hood of the DIAL technology are two (soon to be three) pieces of commercial, off-the-shelf software: Adobe Director™, ITTVis IDL™, and ESRI ArcEngine™. A small plug-in to Director™ links this to IDL™ or (soon) ArcEngine™. Licence agreements with ITTVis and ESRI make the resulting applications free for educational use and distribution. DIAL currently uses the OPeNDAP client in IDL™ for data access. Emerging WCS capabilities within IDL™ and ArcEngine™ will expand data access options.

The DIAL project is a technology infusion effort. We are building a community of developers looking to bring new data resources to their users. The IDL plug-in and ESRI plug-in to Director™ will be made available for free to NASA partners for non-commercial end use. Other uses will require licensing agreements. The IDL and ArcEngine licenses are for educational use, but other agreements can be negotiated. DIAL puts the power of IDL and ArcEngine into the hands of students and the public through user interfaces that a simple and easy to use.

The attached file is a 2 page PDF description of the technology...