Theory of Modeling and Simulation

Rating:
Summary: A light went on...
Review: I am a professional model/actor so I picked this book up to become a better model/actor. Boy was I surprised! After reading this book my knowledge of computer systems has increased 10 fold. It has also expanded my range as an actor. I have gone on several sci-fi type acting auditions and guess what? I landed every single part (there were only two actually). Because I have read this book I now have a pretty solid background in electrical engineering or at least enough to fake an acting audition, HA!! But seriously this was a great book with lots of neat-o pictures that look pretty even when they are upside down. So if you are interested in science stuff or want to learn how to sound like you know what you are talking about read this book. By the way those two acting jobs I got were for the Chicago plays - "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" and "OW! Those are Vice Grips".

Rating:
Summary: A simulation ideas framework
Review: This book have a bad title, must be "Theory of Modeling and Simulation with DEVS".

There are not a real Integration about Discrete Event and Continuous Complex Dynamic Systems. Only a Discret Event Systems Specification (DEVS), nothing more that DEVS. The book is anything but no visual simulation, no numerics management, no probabilities, no DAE-equations, no research operations, no object simulation, no ...

The DEVS concept born with the promise of join different formalism in the 70's (join discreet and continuous simulation), but yet the concept actually in the book is very primitive and not consider real numerical methods in only one layer (remember that many real commercial simulation software is not based in DEVS concepts. Why?, -Maybe, the DEVS concept have a rigorous and innecesary strictness in the framework concepts in modeling and simulation.)

For other hand, this book have bad thigs and good things.

Bad things:

- The algorithms presented are only fragments of pseudocode like C++ (or Java?). Where is all framework code?.
- The concepts are not in a today systemic/cibernetic vision. This is bad, because the definitions and concepts are yet of 70's. (the book is a second edition, where is the change?).
- Actually the DEVS is considered the corner stone of basic theory of discreet simulations according to autor and others, but in a book there are not real simulations for probe the theory.
- Where is THE continuous complex dynamic systems?.
- Lack of code production of real numerical and computacional methods.

The good things:

- If you don't know what is a DEVS this book is your resp.
- Is a source of excellent ideas, in special the study of Quantization and the Systems Design and Environments of M&S (IV Cap.).

Finally, the best of book is not the DEVS concepts (the book is 80% about DEVS), is the math-way how the Autor try define a basic Simulation Framework independent of the model.

Because the above, is a must have in a simulations books.

Rating:
Summary: The best book for whom considers simulation rigorously!
Review: This book looks somewhat difficult but I think that it is the best book for whom researchs modelling and simulation methodology. Based on mathematics, most contents of it were explained rigorously. From the origin of its 1976 version, now in the 2'nd book, DEVS(discrete event system specification) formalism has been extended to cover the continuous state system as well. In addition to, the various extended versions of DEVS, such as Parallel DEVS, Real-time DEVS, Fuzzy DEVS, has been aloso dealt in it.

If you are familiar with the set-theory and the system theory (dealing with inputs and outputs) and looking for the simulation methodology from any IO system view, the book must be the best book to you.