A Brief Introduction to XTide

This article introduces a program that produces output in text mode, graphics and Java. Besides all that, XTide is both useful and fun.
Learning More

An illustrated version of the XTide README can be accessed at universe.digex.net/~dave/xtide/. It contains examples of almost every kind of output that XTide can generate and includes full instructions and a FAQ.

You can learn a lot about tides and tide prediction by reading the National Ocean Service's Tide and Current Glossary. An old version is preserved at universe.digex.net/~dave/xtide/tidegloss.html for the purpose of providing definitions for the technical terms used in the XTide README. The latest version, currently accessible at www-ceob.nos.noaa.gov/tidegloss.html, has been separated into many smaller web pages for easier browsing.

The canonical reference for tide prediction is the Manual of Harmonic Analysis and Prediction of Tides, Special Publication No. 98, Revised (1940) Edition, United States Government Printing Office, 1941. However, much of the traditional lore on tide prediction is not digestible unless you like swimming through pages of equations. Probably the easiest introduction to the subject for programmers is to read the source for the Java applets provided in the XTide distribution. These were written to be as small and simple as possible, and you can easily see where the tides are generated.

Although tide prediction is almost a definition of the term niche market, XTide has attracted an amazing number of users, and I hope that it will continue to serve their needs for years to come.

David Flater (dave@universe.digex.net) is a Computer Scientist (actual job title) living in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. He escaped grad school two years ago with a Ph.D. in Computer Science and is still trying to regain his sense of humor. All things considered, he'd rather be John Carmack.

______________________

Webcast
How to Build an Optimal Hadoop Cluster to Store and Maintain Unlimited Amounts of Data Using Microservers

Realizing the promise of Apache® Hadoop® requires the effective deployment of compute, memory, storage and networking to achieve optimal results. With its flexibility and multitude of options, it is easy to over or under provision the server infrastructure, resulting in poor performance and high TCO. Join us for an in depth, technical discussion with industry experts from leading Hadoop and server companies who will provide insights into the key considerations for designing and deploying an optimal Hadoop cluster.

Learn More

Sponsored by AMD

White Paper
Private PaaS for the Agile Enterprise

If you already use virtualized infrastructure, you are well on your way to leveraging the power of the cloud. Virtualization offers the promise of limitless resources, but how do you manage that scalability when your DevOps team doesn’t scale? In today’s hypercompetitive markets, fast results can make a difference between leading the pack vs. obsolescence. Organizations need more benefits from cloud computing than just raw resources. They need agility, flexibility, convenience, ROI, and control.

Stackato private Platform-as-a-Service technology from ActiveState extends your private cloud infrastructure by creating a private PaaS to provide on-demand availability, flexibility, control, and ultimately, faster time-to-market for your enterprise.

Learn More

Sponsored by ActiveState