Predictions is a generic simulation framework that allows users to define a world with entities and laws that govern their behavior. The framework is designed to be flexible and extensible, allowing users to create simulations for a variety of purposes.
- IDE: IntelliJ
- Programming language: Java 8
- GUI: JavaFX
The Predictions framework consists of the following components:
- World: The world is a container for entities and laws. It defines the initial state of the simulation, including the number of entities and their properties.
- Entity: An entity is a single object in the world. It has a name, a type, and a set of properties.
- Rule: A rule is a set of instructions that govern the behavior of entities. It can change the properties of entities, create new entities, or delete entities.
- Environment Properties: The environment property is a set of global variables that can be accessed by entities and laws.
- Termination conditions: Termination conditions define when the simulation will end.
The simulation process consists of the following steps:
- Initialization: The world is initialized with the specified number of entities and their properties. The environment is also initialized with the specified values.
- Simulation steps: The simulation runs for a specified number of steps. In each step, the following actions are performed:
- All laws that are eligible to be executed are executed.
- The properties of all entities are updated.
- Termination: The simulation terminates if one of the termination conditions is met.
At the end of the simulation, users can access the following output:
- Entity counts and types: A summary of the number of entities and their types.
- Entity property averages: The average value of a property for a given entity type over time.
- Entity property consistency: The consistency of a property value for a given entity type over time.
The Predictions framework also supports the following features:
- Spatial entities: Entities can be assigned a location in space.
- Randomized entities and properties: The properties of entities can be randomly generated at initialization.
- Error handling: The framework detects and reports errors that occur during the simulation.
- Parallel Simulation Runs: The framework can run multiple simulations simultaneously, using the number of threads specified in the configuration file.
- Simulation Control: Users can stop, pause, and resume running simulations. They can also advance simulations by one tick while paused.
- Configuration files: Two sample simulation configuration files are provided for your convenience. If you want to write your own configuration file, you can use the provided files or the provided XML schema as a reference
- Bonus check box: There is a bonus check box in the top left corner of the program. It controls the options for both choosing a skin for the program and minor animations we added.