Imitating Life: An Introduction to Computer Simulation and Modeling Part 1. The Basic Tools and Concepts of Simulation

摘要

Computers have long been used to create numerical and logical models or simulations of real-world systems. Indeed, a large part of the motivation for developing the first computers in the 1930s and 1940s was to be able to perform calculations to simulate and analyze physical systems, such as electrical circuits and the flight of artillery shells. Since then, computer simulation has become an indispensable tool of scientists, engineers, economists, and other people who work with, and desire to understand, the behavior of complex systems. The purpose of this article is to serve as an overview of some of the underlying techniques used to implement computer simulations. Why do you build and use computer simulation models? While there are many reasons, the following are among the most common.