Design and implementation of a coordination model for distributed simulations

Abstract: The coordination of time-dependent simulation models is an important problem in environmental systems engineering. We propose a design model based on a formal specification using the CSP-like language FSP of Magee and Kramer. The heart of our design model is a global timecontroller which coordinates distributed simulation models according to their local time scales. We show how a systematic transition from the design model to a Java implementation can be derived from the design model. The strong practical relevance of the approach is ensured by the fact that our strategy is used to produce the kernel of the integrative simulation system DANUBIA developed within the GLOWA-Danube project.