A system, method, and computer program product for handling deferred expressionsin an object oriented stochastic simulation model

摘要

A system, method, and computer program product for evaluating deferred expressions contained within programming code at runtime. The present invention provides a new data type called a deferred expression. Composite expressions that contain at least one deferred expression are type cast as a deferred expression. According to the method of the present invention, an expression, having a syntax and a type, contained within programming code is evaluated to generate a result. The expression is classified as one of a deferred expression type or an immediate expression type. A deferred expression type is an expression that includes one of a stochastic operand, an inter-object relationship operand, a domain function operand, and a composite expression having at least one deferred expression operand. The syntax of the expression is independent of the expression's type. A result is determined. The result is a primitive value if the expression is an immediate expression type. The result is a deferred expression if the expression is a deferred expression type. The result is assigned to a left-hand value. The left-hand value is one of a variable and an object property.