Variable structure models in object-oriented simulation

Two different object-oriented modeling approaches, DEVS and EMSY, constitute the background to explore the area of variable structure modeling. Realizations of various kinds of structural changes are discussed in both approaches. Against the background of their prime application domains, both approaches deal with the problem of structural change differently. While DEVS emphasizes intelligent control of structural change, EMSY stresses the autonomous character of the system. Like autonomy and control, holism and reductionism play different roles in both approaches and affect the realization of structural changes. However, unlike the former which tend to transcend each other, the reductionistic and holistic view realized in the two modeling approaches prove to set a rigorous framework for variable structure modeling.