Software Frameworks for Model Composition

A software framework is an architecture or infrastructure intended to enable the integration and interoperation of software components. Specialized types of software frameworks are those specifically intended to support the composition of models or other components within a simulation system. Such frameworks are intended to simplify the process of assembling a complex model or simulation system from simpler component models as well as to promote the reuse of the component models. Several different types of software frameworks for model composition have been designed and implemented; those types include common library, product line architecture, interoperability protocol, object model, formal, and integrative environment. The various framework types have different components, processes for composing models, and intended applications. In this survey the fundamental terms and concepts of software frameworks for model composition are presented, the different types of such frameworks are explained and compared, and important examples of each type are described

Models, Composability, and Validity

Composability is the capability to select and assemble simulation components in various combinations into simulation systems to satisfy specific user requirements. The defining characteristic of composability is the ability to combine and recombine components into different simulation systems for different purposes. The ability to compose simulation systems from repositories of reusable components has been a highly sought after goal among modeling and simulation developers. The expected benefits of robust, general composability include reduced simulation development cost and time, increased validity and reliability of simulation results, and increased involvement of simulation users in the process. Consequently, composability is an active research area, with both software engineering and theoretical approaches being developed. Composability exists in two forms, syntactic and semantic (also known as engineering and modeling). Syntactic composability is the implementation of components so that they can be connected. Semantic composability answers the question of whether the models implemented in the composition can be meaningfully composed