Simulation

The progress of RIA technology and the high performance of modern personal computers enables simulation on the end-users machine which means fast response and high interactivity. For heavy calculations however, downloading an optimized program or running the simulation on the server might be better.

Computer-assisted simulation can be divided into stochastic and deterministic simulation. In stochastic systems some randomness is assumed. The system is either random by nature or because the observer does not have sufficient information to define the initial conditions or the dynamics of the system with sufficient accuracy. In both cases the probability of different events must be known however to make a meaningful simulation. Most models in economy, social sciences, ecology and climate research are stochastic.

Deterministic simulation describes systems that are completely predictable if the initial condition is known. Deterministic simulations can be further divided into continuous and descrete-event simulations. In continuous simulations the properties of the system are changing gradually. In the descrete-event case the system is controlled by events, external and/or inernal, which changes the properties in steps. Many systems in classical physics can be described as determinstic and continuous. Simulation of digital electronics is the most typical case of deterministic descrete-event simulation.

In reality there are many systems which can be described as both stochastic and deterministic, and which contain processes of both continuous and discrete-event character. In those cases one has to perform a very advanced simulation or define the aspects which are most relevant to study and simplify the system description. Eduvance has solid experience of computer-assisted simulation and we choose the tools that the problem requires.