Page 275 - DCAP601_SIMULATION_AND_MODELING

Unit 14: Simulation Languages (II)

are performed in an integrated environment comprising interactive menu-driven graphics, a Notes
knowledge base system and a general purpose simulation language.

Notes The features of ISI include hierarchical model construc tion, interactive experiment
specification, automatic code generation, run-time animation and interactive graphical
post- processing of results.

Advantages of Special Purpose Languages

1. Simulation languages offer most (if not all) of the features needed in programming a
simulation model resulting in a decrease in programming time which can often be
significant.
(a) Generating random numbers, that is U (0,1) random variables.

(b) Generating random variables from a specified distribution.
(c) Advancing simulated time.
(d) Determining the next event from the event list
(e) Adding records to, or deleting records from, a list.

(f) Collecting and analyzing data.
(g) Reporting the results.
(h) Detecting error conditions.
2. Simulation models are usually easier to change when written in a simulation language.

3. They provide better error detection because many potential types of errors have been
recognized and are checked for automatically. Since fewer lines of code have to be written,
the chance of making an error will probably be smaller.

!
Caution Conversely, errors in a new version of a simulation language itself may be
difficult for a user to find.

Advantages of General Purpose Languages

1. Most modelers already know a general purpose language, but this is often not the case
with a simulation language.
2. General purpose languages are obtainable on virtual1y every computer, but a particular
simulation language may not be accessible on the computer that the analyst wants to use.
3. An competently written general purpose program may require less execution time than
the corresponding program written in a simulation language. This is because a simulation
language is designed to model a wide variety of systems with one set of building blocks,
whereas general purpose program can be tailored to the particular application.
4. General purpose languages allow greater programming flexibility than certain simulation
languages.

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