Using Perspective to Model Complex Processes

The notion of perspective, when supported in an object-based knowledge representation, can facilitate better abstractions of reality for modeling and simulation. The object modeling of complex physical and chemical processes is made more difficult in part due to the poor abstractions of state and phase changes available in these models. The notion of perspective can be used to create different views to represent the different states of matter in a process. These techniques can lead to a more understandable model. Additionally, the ability to record the progress of a process from start to finish is problematic. It is desirable to have a historic record of the entire process, not just the end result of the process. A historic record should facilitate backtracking and re-start of a process at different points in time. The same representation structures and techniques can be used to create a sequence of process markers to represent a historic record. By using perspective, the sequence of markers can have multiple and varying views tailored for a particular user's context of interest