Making PARMILA easy to use - really easy to use!

A graphical user interface (GUI), which provides for easy problem set up and dam input, has been integrated with the PARMILA program. PARMILA is one of the most commonly used simulation programs for the design and analysis of high power radio frequency ion accelerators. Despite the widespread use of. PARMILA, the initial set up of a design problem can be tedious and time consuming, even for experienced users. We have developed a new approach to using PARMILA by integrating it with the Shell for Particle Accelerator Related Codes (SPARC), a unique GUI designed specifically to support particle beam simulation and analysis programs. Using SPARC, problem set up is accomplished graphycally. For example, the configuration of a PARMILA beamline is defined by selecting icons representing transport elements from: a palette and dragging them to a window. Progress on this new approach to using PARMILA is described and example from the interface are illustrated.