A flow oriented computer system simulation language

Abstract

This paper describes a language expressly designed for the simulation of operating system software. A carefully selected portion of the modeling machinery has been incorporated into the language so that the user need only be concerned with the operating system logic in constructing the modeling program. The modeling statements, as input to the assembly portion of the package result in the generation of a series of tables and pseudo code segments which are acted upon interpretatively during the simulation phase. A general description of system features together with a sample model program are presented in the body of the paper. The system described is written mainly in Fortran in a highly modular fashion so that certain extensions and/or changes to the language are easily implemented. The foundation for the effort is simply that simulation of proposed equipment configurations and/or operating system logic can and should be done prior to the installation and/or coding of the actual hardware software complex. Existing simulation languages are not always convenient to the task. Special languages which are natural and convenient to use in describing operating systems can make the prospect of simulation more attractive and useful.