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Abstract:
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Graphical programming has been used in conjunction with
conventional simulation languages via block diagrams or activity
networks. Its beneficial effects on programming and modeling in
simulation have been accepted by everyone involved in these
languages. However, none of these conventional techniques is
truely interactive. Given the level of the current hardware and
software technology, it is possible to design a very good
graphical programming system which supports an interactive
incremental programming style in specifications of simulation
models. The benefit of such a visual system would go beyond the
modeling phase of a simulation study and it might as well be
realized in understanding the behavior of complex problems, in
being a communication and training medium for the user and
developers, and finally in presenting the simulation results.
In this study, the graphical programming methodology has
been investigated from the perspective of object-oriented
simulation. The truely interactive and graphical orientation of
some of the object-oriented languages (e.g., Smalltalk-80) has
opened up new avenues of research in this very important topic.
Today, the nature of this type of research will be not whether it can be done but how the known techniques should be combined to yield the highest benefit. |
