The Vision of a RealWorld Simulator - Programming GPS and OpenStreetMap Applications with Java - page 16

objects' positions frequently, the main program can validate the objects
behavior externally.
Another development cycle could define the MassObject as a billiard ball.
This would require the implementation of a shape (ball), size (radius), the
inner structure needed to calculate collisions (inelastic) with other balls,
and the surface structure to determine the friction of the ball (spin) on the
tablecloth, etc.
The idea, however, is that we separate the programming objects and the
environments.

javawhitepaper>chapter1>IntroductiontoJavaTechnology

The Java programming language is designed to meet the
challenges of application development in the context of het-
erogeneous, network-wide distributed environments. . . . secure
delivery of applications that . . . can be extended dynamically.
. . . to develop advanced software for a wide variety of network
devicesand embedded systems. The goal was to develop a
small, reliable, portable, distributed,real-timeoperating plat-
form.

Thus, using Java, one programmer should be able to create and run an
environment on his own machine, while another programmer can create and
instantiate an object on his computer and hook it up to the environment
to interact with other objects of other programmers.
Using the gravity example, the main method could represent a \server,"
acting as the third party, i.e., the ether between the objects. The server
provides time and space to detect coincidences and decouple the individual
implementations running on separate CPUs and connected via a network.
The server could dene the \rules" for an object's participation and with
the rules, the degree of reality. With well-designed physical objects, pro-
grammers can run experiments and use predesigned objects to understand
physical laws.
In a client-server constellation, the object developer can work in a sim-
ilar way. He can initially implement a simple world model based on the
object's perception (interface/sensors) of the external world. He can then
experiment by testing different approaches, starting in very general envi-
ronments and then refining to special cases.

2.3 Projecting Reality into Virtual Worlds

Theoretical scientists make assumptions about how something behaves and
draw conclusions using formulas that are able to predict the results of ex-