REPLY Open Source Simulation Software (SD6807)

[SDMAIL Malczynski, Leonard A]

Posted by  "Malczynski, Leonard A" <lamalcz at sandia.gov>

In response to my friend Bill Braun:

I agree the users want it. The market however, is composed of buyers and 
sellers. The sellers, in a simple economist's world, probably want the 
least cost production method that will produce a product that their 
potential customers will purchase. Most firms also know that product 
differentiation may lead to greater profit. In fact since all consumers 
are different, they all have different desires (indifference maps, if 
you will, and of course disposable incomes).

In order to produce this common format each vendor would have to export 
to it and import from it. Since each vendor's implementation of the SD 
methodology and extra-methodology is different there will be many 
features that can be exported but not imported. Might his encourage a 
homogeneity of tools? If so, what's the point of multiple vendors? 
Better development environments? Interface tools?

We also need to consider the exact meaning of words, e.g. model. My work 
involves building applications, an SD model with an interface, a flight 
simulator if you will. A common language format will make translation 
easier but nowhere near complete. In my paper I proposed that at some 
level, model translation is not the problem, model availability might 
be.  Perhaps at the Albuquerque conference we can host a tutorial on 
model conversion.

Regards and thanks for all the insights,

Len

P.S. A roundtable to discuss these issues has been proposed at the 
Athens conference. The SDS iSig will hopefully host it.
Posted by  "Malczynski, Leonard A" <lamalcz at sandia.gov>
posting date  Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:15:59 -0600