The "HEP" in our name stands for "High Energy Physics." I am Dr. John J. Ryan, the founder of HEPArts; I am a High Energy Physicist. The community of "Experimental Particle Physics" (the more precise name of the HEP field) has dealt with Terabyte data samples for over twenty years. Robustness is mandatory, just to access the whole data sample. Efficiency is also essential, as computer processing time equals money.

Robustness and Efficiency are counterbalancing forces in computer programming. Achieving a reasonable balance requires experience and hardwork on the part of the programmers and diligence on the part of the testers. We do not leave the testing to our customers, as seems to be common in the Computer Industry.

In writing analysis programs in Physics experiments, we were always focused on the goal of the analysis, not the programming itself. We did not care about "computing paradigms." We wanted to use the computer to get some work done. This seems to be in stark contrast to much of the Computer Science industry today. This was the motivation for HEPArts: produce software that helps get work done, rather than fleshing out computing paradigms.

The other aspect of computer programs that relates strongly to accomplishing a bit of work is the interface between the computer and a human. We feel that a computer program should aid a person in accomplishing his task, not hinder him. It should not force a person "to think like a computer." Rather, it should offer a Human interface, to allow the person to think normally. In addition, there is no reason for a computer interface to be ugly. Computers today have sufficient power to render graphics nicely, and still get some work done. Achieving a comfortable interface between a program and its user requires a little artistry.

In the end, we strive to integrate these characteristics into our computer programs. We hope that they will be useful, enabling businesses to concentrate on their real-life problems and to solve them more comfortably.

Copyright © 2005 HEPArts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.