W3MCSim:: an online and reconfigurable Monte Carlo simulator for interactive probabilistic/statistical modeling

We have implemented a Monte Carlo simulator (W(3)MCSim) as an Internet software toot, primarily for interactive use by students, educators, life and other physical scientists, as well as other practitioners of probabilistic and statistical modeling. Interested users download, install and run W(3)MCSim by visiting the application website. This application incorporates three freely available Microsoft((R)) web technologies, namely the Internet Explorer((R)) web browser, the Component Object Model(TM) software framework and the JScript((R)) web page script interpreter. We define the software architecture here, as a web application model, and show how incorporation of these technologies provides an efficient solution to W(3)MCSim software deployment. We demonstrate the usability and versatility of this simulator with three distinct tutorial examples: simulating the sum of six-sided dice, estimating intersection frequency in "Buffon's needle problem", and testing an animal experiment design model a priori. We also show how the program components can be reconfigured into other programs. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.