Re: STARS modeling and simulation effort

[agate!spool.mu.edu!think.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!hobbes.physics.uio wa.edu!ns-mx!pyrite.cs.uiowa.edu@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Douglas W. Jones,201H ML]

>From article <STEVE.91Sep4100148@xorn.titan.tsd.arlut.utexas.edu>, by steve@ti
tan.tsd.arlut.utexas.edu (Steve Glicker):
> I have just heard that a modeling and simulation effort of military
> systems is underway for the STARS (Software Technology for Adaptable,
> Reliable Systems) Foundation.

This is news to me, but I'd sure be interested in the results!  I'm
currently involved in a fairly large-scale DoD funded simulation project,
using Ada (not because they required Ada, curiously enough), and it would
be very helpful if there was a good supply of standardized off-the-shelf
simulation and expert-system components available to support the project.

Working with fairly green grad students as my programming staff, on the
other hand, I've found that it is a good training venture to put new
grad students to work writing the kinds of generic packages I ought to be
able to get "off the shelf".

The few pieces of software I've been able to get "off the shelf" have been
of remarkably poor quality -- for example, random number generators with
obsessive (MIL-SPECS?) documentation but poor utility, or obviously built
for one application and difficult to shoehorn into other applications.

				Doug Jones
				jones@cs.uiowa.edu