Storage and retrieval of discrete-event simulation models

Present simulation languages provide the modeler with powerful tools that facilitate the building of discrete-event simulation models. These models can largely be built by using high-level modules containing a lot of built-in functionality. Although such languages greatly reduce the amount of work to build an implementation model, the modeler often has the feeling that he is reinventing the wheel again and again. Perhaps the model he is about to design and implement already exists, or perhaps some model exists that sufficiently resembles the model about to be designed. All this would make it worthwhile to store existing models in a database for later use. In this respect, two aspects are of major interest. Firstly, how can implementation models be stored in a database and how can a modeler retrieve a specific model from such a database? A second theme is closely related to this. If the specified model is not present in the database - and this is expected to be true in most cases - would it then be possible to select a model that, in some sense, is similar to the model that the modeler had specified? In this paper, the feasibility and usefulness of the proposed approach is investigated with a focus on Arena models. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.