The Assertion-Based Computer Modeling Package
John T. Murphy
The Assertion-Based Computer Modeling Package (ABCM) is a Java-based extensible framework for building simulation
models that store both input and output data in an SQL Server database. The data are structured in a way that permits:
- Extensible collections of parameters to be used for each simulation run
- Extensible collections of code options- separable code algorithms- that can be selected, in combination,
for each run.
- Construction of sequences of instructions to be executed at specified times in the simulation (narratives)
and the ability to combine narratives in varying ways to form 'histories'.
- A framework for building collections of domain-specific input data while maintaining a perfect audit trail
linking simulation output to input.
- The ability to comment on any simulation element, thus permitting simulations to be part of a dialog
among researchers.
- The ability to assemble any collection of simulation output into larger analyses or collections of
analyses.
The central emphasis of this framework is that static data and simulation code can and should be used to construct larger chains of logical argument; the database framework enables this. This subsumes practical concerns of tracking simulation input and output within a broader framework that addresses how simulation-based science can and should proceed. It explicitly embraces a philosophy of modeling drawn from the Logical Positivists of the Vienna Circle.
Components available for download