The Linear Buffer and its role in the WSR-88D Open System RPG

The WSR-88D Open System Radar Product Generation (ORPG) is a complex distributed data ingesting, processing and distribution software system developed at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). The Linear Buffer (LB) is the software component that supports inter-process communication (IPC), message passing, data buffering, data storage and configuration information management within ORPG. In nearly four years of ORPG development, the LB has evolved into a useful middleware tool for building extensible and portable real-time meteorological data processing systems. In this report, we briefly describe the functionality and application programming interface of LB. We also discuss how LB is used as the core software infrastructure in developing ORPG. Comparisons with other alternative technologies are presented. The knowledge we have gained in developing ORPG could be helpful for future meteorological data processing system development projects.