Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
GRAMS reference model
Problem-specific conceptual models
Define basic building blocks
of agent-based models
«i ns tantiation»
CM
1
CM
2
...
«i mpl ementation»
Problem-specific executable models
EM
1
EM
2
...
«execution»
Simulation engines
Define constraints for
simulation of a model
«constraints»
Figure 6.1:
The GRAMS reference model serves as a template for
problem-specific conceptual models and defines constraints
on simulation engines for executing these models.
engine may use any kind of internal data structures and execution
control as long as the constraints specified by the GRAMS reference
model are not violated. The important point is that all simulation
engines produce identical results when executing the same model under
identical conditions (like same random seed, etc.). By providing precise
definitions the GRAMS reference model allows to develop simulation
models and simulation engines independently of each other.
As expectations on such a
general
reference model for agent-based
modeling and simulation vary a lot, it is important to place the
GRAMS reference model into proper context. Figure 6.2 classifies
the domain of agent-based modeling along the
modeling level
.This
is a rather soft indicator ranging from low-level modeling to more
and more sophisticated high-level modeling approaches. Low-level
modeling considers only basic ideas and concepts, and represents
