Researches and developers of simulation models state that the Java program ming language presents a unique and significant opportunity for important changes in the way we develop simulation models today. The most important characteristics of the Java language that are advantageous for simulation are its multi-threading capabilities, its facilities for executing programs across the Web, and its graphics facilities. It is feasible to develop compatible and reusable simulation components that will facilitate the construction of newer and more complex models. This is possible with Java development environments. Another important trend that begun very recently is web-based simulation, i.e., and the execution of simulation models using Internet browser software. This book introduces the application of the Java programming language in discrete-event simulation. In addition, the fundamental concepts and prac tical simulation techniques for modeling different types of systems to study their general behavior and their performance are introduced. The approaches applied are the process interaction approach to discrete-event simulation and object-oriented modeling. Java is used as the implementation language and UML as the modeling language. The first offers several advantages compared to C++, the most important being: thread handling, graphical user interfaces (QUI) and Web computing. The second language, UML (Unified Modeling Language) is the standard notation used today for modeling systems as a collection of classes, class relationships, objects, and object behavior.

The primary objective of this research is to develop a network-centric simulation modeling framework that can be used to build simulation models through the use of Internet-based resources. An object-oriented programming approach was used to build a Java-based modeling framework focused on modeling a semiconductor fabrication system. This research is an initial step in what may be a new network-centric simulation modeling methodology, where simulation models are created using software objects that are physically located in many different sites across the Internet. Once the ability to create and run a relatively simple model using a network-centric approach has been established, future research may lead to a simulation environment that not only lets a user interactively build models but also allows concurrent model development between a group of users, independent of their location, operating system, or computer architecture. The prototype system implemented as a portion of this research is performed in the Java object-oriented programming language. A target system model is presented as an example of how the environment can be used to apply the network-centric simulation modeling methodology.

Object Oriented Simulation will qualify as a valuable resource to students and accomplished professionals and researchers alike, as it provides an extensive, yet comprehensible introduction to the basic principles of object-oriented modeling, design and implementation of simulation models. Key features include an introduction to modern commercial graphical simulation and animation software, accessible breakdown of OOSimL language constructs through various programming principles, and extensive tutorial materials ideal for undergraduate classroom use.

"This is an excellent and well-written text on discrete event simulation with a focus on applications in Operations Research. There is substantial attention to programming, output analysis, pseudo-random number generation and modelling and these sections are quite thorough. Methods are provided for generating pseudo-random numbers (including combining such streams) and for generating random numbers from most standard statistical distributions." --ISI Short Book Reviews, 22:2, August 2002

Intended to help novices and seasoned pros better understand the construction and use of the process interaction approach to discrete-event simulation using object-oriented modeling and programming, this book details both the fundamentals and implementation aspects of simulation modeling using C++. Analysts, software engineers, and programmers faced with the challenge of developing medium to large complex systems will put this book to work in helping them more efficiently design and test systems and alternative concepts.