Groups32 
Internet accessible (2000)


A complete article on the development of Groups32 now appears as

“Evolution of a Computer Application” in JOMA vol 3 (September 2003).

                  JOMA article                      preprint (pdf)     


Groups32 Webpage   
Groups15 Applet      


This is a computer program which computes information about the groups of orders 1-32.  You can find the orders of elements, list the subgroups, find cosets, search for a finitely presented group, work with permutations, and more.  It was originally written to illustrate a methodology for producing research software. It has also proved useful for use in courses in abstract algebra.  It has been equipped with a user interface that is easy to learn and quick to use.

Groups32 contains, internally, a set of tables for the groups of orders 1-32. All of the information generated by issuing commands is computed from the tables.  Groups32 contains a set of commands, at various levels, which operate on group tables – the ones presented to the user are the “top level”.  There are foundational commands which are used to build the top level commands.
Groups32 is extensible.  It is possible to add new commands and very easy to extend the user interface to include them.  [Programmability is disabled on the Internet version.

Groups32 has also been used as a test case for making computer programs accessible on the Internet.  
The Internet is an excellent medium for making computer programs accessible. Users can run software without installation and without the requirement of a particular platform. This approach enhances the availability of software and dramatically reduces the cost of maintaining it.