Simulation Using SMALLTALK.
Abstract
Simulation is a powerful and widely used analytic tool. It is often the only useful tool for problems that defy mathematical formulation. There are many situations which cannot be solved mathematically due to either the stochastic nature, or to the complexity, or to the interactions of the elements of the model, and simulation can often be used to obtain relevant answers. An essential part of any simulation is a representation of the system under study. This representation leads to the construction of a computer program that 'describes' the model to be studied, and there are several commercial simulation packages on the market, including SIMISCRIPT, GPSS, SLAM, SIMULA, and GASP that have been widely used. Object oriented programming has become increasingly popular in the 1980's. Object oriented languages have been used successfully in such areas as simulation, systems programming, graphics, and Artificial Intelligence. SMALLTALK is an object oriented language, developed by Xerox, that has features particularly suited to simulation. The purpose of this paper is twofold: the first is to acquaint the reader with the concept of object oriented programming; the second is to describe how the language SMALLTALK was used for a simulation application for the US Army.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA175198
Entities
People
- J. R. Suckling
- Mark H. Ralston
- Richard A. Helfman
Organizations
- Ballistic Research Laboratory