SIPDES - A SIMULATION PROGRAM DEBUGGER USING AN EXPERT SYSTEM

SIPDES is an expert system that has been developed to aid in the debugging of simulation models. The simulation models are written in Pascal and are hand written or are derived from the use of an interactive simulation program generator. User amendments oo the program occur because either the generator can not handle all of the model complexity, or because of a revision to the problem description. These amendments give rise to run time errors or errors seen at the reporting stage of the program run. An expert system was considered to be a suitable method for developing a debugging tool because of the limited domain of the problem (simulation and Pascal); because of the versatility of these systems in handling changes and extensions; and because of the limited availability of experts who had to acquire their expertise empirically. Experiences of system design, knowledge acquisition, and system validation are related. Future uses for such systems are outlined. The type of expert system development tool used is also discussed. © 1991.