[comp.object] Looking for classes and algorithms for use in discrete event simulation

weiner@novavax.UUCP (Bob Weiner) (10/18/89)

I just reread the intro in Stroustrup's C++ reference manual and noticed
that his published reason for initially creating "C with Classes" (which
evolved into C++, was to do discrete event simulation.

I have a need to do work in this area also and feel OO techniques will
be very helpful.  Any pointers to available source classes for discrete
event simulation or object-based algorithms would be greatly
appreciated.  (More specifically, we are modelling an RF communications
system.)
-- 
Bob Weiner, Motorola, Inc.,   USENET:  ...!gatech!uflorida!novavax!weiner
(407) 738-2087

sakkinen@tukki.jyu.fi (Markku Sakkinen) (10/20/89)

In article <1533@novavax.UUCP> weiner@novavax.UUCP (Bob Weiner) writes:
>I just reread the intro in Stroustrup's C++ reference manual and noticed
>that his published reason for initially creating "C with Classes" (which
>evolved into C++, was to do discrete event simulation.
>
>I have a need to do work in this area also and feel OO techniques will
>be very helpful.  Any pointers to available source classes for discrete
>event simulation or object-based algorithms would be greatly
>appreciated.  (More specifically, we are modelling an RF communications
>system.)

Did you notice that B.S. wrote:
"... some event-driven simulations for which Simula67 would have been
ideal, except for efficiency considerations"?
I suppose efficiency considerations would hardly rule out Simula today.
With Simula systems, you get the basic classes for discrete event
simulation; and after more that 20 years' use and experience,
they should be tested and mature.
Moreover, Simula is available on a much wider spectrum of computers
than C++, e.g. VAX/VMS and Prime.

Note: I have no practical experience with Simula.
Sorry that this repeats much that I wrote in another newsgroup
some time ago.
As for literature, there is e.g. a book by Birtwistle on discrete
event simulation in Simula (he is also a co-author of the classic
"SIMULA begin").

Markku Sakkinen
Department of Computer Science
University of Jyvaskyla (a's with umlauts)
Seminaarinkatu 15
SF-40100 Jyvaskyla (umlauts again)
Finland

alonzo@microsoft.UUCP (Alonzo Gariepy) (10/22/89)

In article <1533@novavax.UUCP> weiner@novavax.UUCP (Bob Weiner) writes:
> I just reread the intro in Stroustrup's C++ reference manual and noticed
> that his published reason for initially creating "C with Classes" (which
> evolved into C++, was to do discrete event simulation.
> 
> I have a need to do work in this area also and feel OO techniques will
> be very helpful.  Any pointers to available source classes for discrete
> event simulation or object-based algorithms would be greatly
> appreciated.  (More specifically, we are modelling an RF communications
> system.)

Check out Part Three (Chapters 21 to 25) of "Smalltalk-80, The Language
and its Implementation" (the Blue Book), by Adele Goldberg and David
Robson.  The toughest part of oo programming is designing good protocols,
so you can get a head start by studying theirs.  

Alonzo Gariepy
alonzo@microsoft