On a Software Platform for MASIVE Simulations

Abstract

Pattern-Aided Simulated Interaction Context Learning Experiment (POPSICLE) Agent Simulator began as a sample project in object-oriented agent programming, but quickly grew into a complete framework for the simulation of agent behavior based upon an associative memory model. The system began its implementation as a Java 2 (J2SE 1.4) application, but was later migrated to a Java 5 application (J2SE 1.5) to utilize the type-safe collections and enumerated types that became available in the latest Java version. Various design patterns were employed in the development; the most predominate being the Model/Controller/View (MCV) architecture. As we will see later, the system also relies heavily on delegation and observers.