DATA 604 - A12

1st Approach

Using the facility model.
This is what we’ve mostly used for the span of the Simio textbook problems.
Using a standard or custom library of objects we can build our model logic from advanced components and modify them at a lower level using add-on processes.

2nd Approach

Using a process model, to define all your model’s logic.
Though the standard library of objects uses process models to define an object; it is entirely conceivable to create your entire model using only the process model.

3rd Approach

Subclassing is a method of duplicating objects in an library, to modify for your own personal means at a lower level.

What determines our choice when creating a specific object.

:: For presentation; we use the facility model for a 3D view of our model. This allows for far more visual customization of the model. It also requires more specifications for a unique model. A unique model with unique objects built in the facility model would most likely require the use of add-on processes /importing custom object libraries / or subclassing.

::For a short and sweet model, we would use the 2nd approach, process modeling. Using no visual cues we are able to painstakingly specify each and every detail of a model. If these models get too big, it becomes difficult to visualize and you may want to consider packaging smaller parts into objects, as a custom library for the facility model.

::For extensibility we subclass model objects for peculiar interests. (If we are a company that makes microwaves, we would subclass a server to a microwave object) So that in the future, other people can use our custom library for similar modeling. We could also use sublassing as a way to organize objects without too many convoluted add-on process clutter.