An Object-Oriented Framework for Designing Reusable and Maintainable DEVS Models using Design Patterns

Design patterns are well practices to share software development experiences. These patterns allow enhancing reusability, readability and maintainability of architecture and code of software applications. As simulation applies computerized models to produce traces in order to obtain results and conclusions, designers of simulation explored design patterns to make the simulation code more reusable, more readable and easy to maintain, in addition to design complex software oriented simulation modeling. In DEVS (Discrete Event System specification), the designers have successfully designed simulations, frameworks, tools, etc. However, some issues remain still open and should be explored like how a piece of code that implements a set of states, events and transitions may be reused to design a new DEVS model? How may a DEVS model be extended to a new formalism? Etc. In this paper, we address these issues and we propose a set of patterns that may serve as guidelines to designers of DEVS models and its extensions and may contribute to the design of an operational simulation framework. These patterns are inspired partly by the available designs of DEVS community and software engineering developers

A METHODOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF DOMAIN SPECIFIC SIMULATION APPLICATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS

In the modeling and simulation (M&S) arena, simulation developers have been exploring the concepts that facilitate modeling real world elements using appropriate simulation artifacts within the context of the domain of the application. However, there are some critical issues that distort their effectiveness and efficiency. The first issue is the quantity and quality of assumptions and constraints made during the M&S development, concerning the completeness of simulation models to represent reality. The second issue is the levels of model composability and simulation interoperability, affecting the possibility of data exchange and reusability. The third issue is development of an effective simulation-based environment such that the implementation of the concepts effectively implemented. Thus, this research study aims to develop a methodology that addresses these issues to improve the development of simulation models and the creation of simulation modeling environments particular to specific domains. Conceptual simulation modeling (CSM), model transformation, and domain specific simulation environment (DSSE) create the foundations for this methodology to bridge the gap between reality and simulation