Simantics System Dynamics is a ready-to-use

system dynamics System dynamics (SD) is an approach to understanding the nonlinear behaviour of complex systems over time using stocks, flows, internal feedback loops, table functions and time delays. Overview System dynamics is a methodology and mathematic ...

modelling and

simulation software Simulation software is based on the process of modeling a real phenomenon with a set of mathematical formulas. It is, essentially, a program that allows the user to observe an operation through simulation without actually performing that operation. ...

application for understanding different organizations, markets and other complex systems and their dynamic behavior. Simantics System Dynamics is used for modelling and simulating large hierarchical models with multidimensional variables. The models are created in a traditional way with stock and flow diagrams and

causal loop diagram A causal loop diagram (CLD) is a causal diagram that aids in visualizing how different variables in a system are causally interrelated. The diagram consists of a set of words and arrows. Causal loop diagrams are accompanied by a narrative which de ...

s. Simulation results and the model structure can be analyzed with different visual tools. Simantics System Dynamics is developed on the Simantics Platform and is released under

Eclipse Public License The Eclipse Public License (EPL) is a free and open source software license most notably used for the Eclipse IDE and other projects by the Eclipse Foundation. It replaces the Common Public License (CPL) and removes certain terms relating to ...

and provided as

open-source software Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Ope ...

History

The development was initiated by a group of active

modellers who had needs and ideas for an open toolset. The new needs for features like

hierarchical A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

modules, module libraries,

collaborative Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Mo ...

model development and efficient model communication in system dynamics together with the development of open source modelling framework Simantics and simulation environment OpenModelica drove the developers to start developing an open source modelling and simulation software for system dynamics.

Features

Simantics System Dynamics has several key features ; Spreadsheets : An easy way for importing and managing parameter values are

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in ce ...

s. They can also be used for storing and maintaining values in familiar format. ;Experiments : Experiments are the way to simulate the model in Simantics System Dynamics. Experiments can exist with different configurations meaning e.g. different initial values for some parameters. ;Modules : Modules enable structural modeling. They are defined just like the basic model configuration but the module component hides the actual configuration. ;Functions : Simantics System Dynamics contains built-in functions and also user-definable functions. Functions can be exchanged via exporting and importing. ;Charts : Charts are user-defined displays of simulation result data. Charts can be used in various places. There are four types of custom charts *

Line chart A line chart or line graph or curve chart is a type of chart which displays information as a series of data points called 'markers' connected by straight line segments. It is a basic type of chart common in many fields. It is similar to a s ...

Sensitivity chart Sensitivity may refer to: Science and technology Natural sciences * Sensitivity (physiology), the ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli ** Sensory processing sensitivity in humans * Sensitivity and specificity, statisti ...

Bar chart A bar chart or bar graph is a chart or graph that presents categorical data with rectangular bars with heights or length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension dist ...

Pie chart A pie chart (or a circle chart) is a circular statistical graphic, which is divided into slices to illustrate numerical proportion. In a pie chart, the arc length of each slice (and consequently its central angle and area) is proportional t ...

Interface and usability

Simantics System Dynamics Workbench Parts

Simantics System Dynamics (as any other Simantics based product) is built on top of

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

and therefore the

User interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...

logic follows closely the one introduced in Eclipse. Simantics System Dynamics workbench window contains one or more perspective and perspectives contain different views and editors. Views are used to represent data in different ways. Editors are used for the actual modeling.

Simantics Platform

Simantics is an open source software platform especially for modelling and numerical simulation. It is a grounding to build a modelling and simulation software or to integrate different software tools. Simantics platform utilizes heavily

semantic Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comput ...

data driven technique. All the data in the Simantics platform database is described using semantic data models and

ontologies In computer science and information science, an ontology encompasses a representation, formal naming, and definition of the categories, properties, and relations between the concepts, data, and entities that substantiate one, many, or all domains ...

. In addition to the database, Simantics platform contains many features and user interface elements that are common to most simulation and modelling tools like diagram editor, symbol library and different kind of experiment and state management.

References

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External links

Simantics System Dynamics home page

Simantics home page
Simulation software