You have raised a question that I think needs to be answered before we
can judge
the acceptance, apathy or rejection to the MPI-2 standard. We first
need to:
1. define who the public is
2. decide if all subgroups in this "public" are aware of MPI-2
3. determine if they are aware that their comments are significant to
the MPI-2
forum
4. Be sure the public is encouraged to give comments if and when they
are
made aware.
5. Provide a questionnaire for commentors to fill out. This is a
standard
product market strategy.
Although this may seem like a trivial approach, it would certainly help
to define the problem. Perhaps providers and vendors should be polling
their users
and ask them to comment.
When discussing MPI with potential users, I have found it necessary to
encapsulate
the functionality and provide a brief description of how it may be
used. For
at least one class of uers, this may be a necessity. They will not take
the
time to evaluate it. Also, there is a broad spectrum of potential
users. It is
unclear how to get them involved for commenting since they do not know
who they
are yet. And finally, the current users are probably well represented
at the Forum
already and constantly give their comments.
My opinion about MPI products in general is that they are becoming more
popular.
Like any product, they must be marketed to increase awareness. Local
communities of
potential users are made aware through local IEEE and/or ACM chapter
talks
at special interest group meetings; vendor literature; published texts
and
tutorials. As consumers apply the product to their problems, more uses
may evolve. As a provider and supplier of MPI, we usually invest time
to
consult with potential customers on how the product may be used. There
are
so many diverse applications, with a need for different MPI
functionality. This is
especially true for MPI-2.
In general, it may be more effective to create a list of criteria and
send out a
questionnaire to users and potential users, rather than expect them to
read 380
pages and comment. Perhaps the process needs some order.
------------------------------
Anna Rounbehler
SKY Computers
anna@sky.com