Re: Simulation Programming Skills and Python
On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 10:48:46 -0500, Richard Blackwood wrote: > Two, is > Python a good language for simulation programming? Civilization 4 is (partly) written in Python. I suppose they thought Python was a good language for that. I said partly because as far as I know some code is C++ for speed reasons. -- USB Priests for only 10$ -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: Simulation Programming Skills and Python
So I can't develop and code the model simultaneously if I'm relying on the programming skill of someone who doesn't understand what I'm modelling? Also, say I (the hypothetical expert of knowledge domain X) learn programming, an I necessarily going to know how to model X with programming? When you become a full fledge programmer are you able to see everything (relationships and so forth) as code so easily?On 6 Mar 2006 09:24:18 -0800, gene tani <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote:...The 1st question is open-ended, it's kind of like asking are mathematicians good at music by disposition on average? (or somethinglike that) When you're modeling a knowledge domain with a developerwho doesn't master the details of the domain, you have to haveincredible specifications and testing, at all levels of the model -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: Simulation Programming Skills and Python
Okay, I really like that analogy. Not everything a carpenter can do requires an architect to draw up a blueprint though. For example, if I tell a carpenter I want a tree house with built-in seating and a window in the roof, no other requirements, can't they figure out how to do that on their own? So I then ask, what is a "good description"? Also, can't a model be well thought-out but not necessarily designed in a way compatible with the process of translation into code? Thanks Lonnie.On 6 Mar 2006 09:05:19 -0800, Lonnie Princehouse < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Object oriented languages lend themselves fairly well to this sort ofmodeling, and a strong programmer in any language should be able to take a good description of a well thought-out model and write some codefor it.However, by far the harder part is designing a good model. Askingwhether all programmers are capable of that is sort of like asking whether all carpenters are architects.As for Python, it's a good language for prototyping. The developmentcycle moves very fast, so one can experiment with many different ideasmore quickly than in Java or C++. The price, however, is execution speed. There are extension modules like the scipy suite which canreclaim some lost speed, but Python will generally be slower thancompiled languages.-- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: Simulation Programming Skills and Python
Richard Blackwood wrote: > Hello all. I have a few questions about simulation programming. One, do > all programmers know to how to code a simulation? By simulation I mean a > model of real world relationships (i.e. like Civilization which is a > simulation of ruling nations through various historical settings). For > example, could someone who codes word processing application necessarily > know how to do a simulation of economic relationships between banks and > enterprises if he/she had access to an economist? Is the skill of being > able to translate in one's head realworld relationships into a model > represented by code an inherent/native skill of all programmers? Two, is > Python a good language for simulation programming? > The 2nd question is easy: python is excellent for your purpose, you'll find lots of examples googleing for "python discrete event simulation", http://simpy.sourceforge.net/ libs for linear algebra, statistics /probability / sampling, OR algorithms, (both native libs and hooks to C/Fortran libs like GSL, LAPACK etc. The 1st question is open-ended, it's kind of like asking are mathematicians good at music by disposition on average? (or something like that) When you're modeling a knowledge domain with a developer who doesn't master the details of the domain, you have to have incredible specifications and testing, at all levels of the model > Thank you all! > > - Richard Blackwood -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: Simulation Programming Skills and Python
Richard Blackwood: >Is the skill of being able to translate in one's head realworld relationships >into a model represented by code an inherent/native skill of all programmers?< I don't think so. Creating a good computational model can be a complex art. >Python a good language for simulation programming?< It depends on the type of simulation. Python can be good to create a prototype of the simulation program, and it can be good if the simulation doesn't require much number crunching that cannot be vectorized :-) If the simulation require a lot of number crunching, but such operations can be done with Numarray and the like, then you can probably use Python or Mathematica, or similar systems. Otherwise you may need a hybrid program (Python + Pyrex, Swig, or f2py, ShedSkin, etc). Bye, bearophile -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: Simulation Programming Skills and Python
Object oriented languages lend themselves fairly well to this sort of modeling, and a strong programmer in any language should be able to take a good description of a well thought-out model and write some code for it. However, by far the harder part is designing a good model. Asking whether all programmers are capable of that is sort of like asking whether all carpenters are architects. As for Python, it's a good language for prototyping. The development cycle moves very fast, so one can experiment with many different ideas more quickly than in Java or C++. The price, however, is execution speed. There are extension modules like the scipy suite which can reclaim some lost speed, but Python will generally be slower than compiled languages. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Simulation Programming Skills and Python
Hello all. I have a few questions about simulation programming. One, do all programmers know to how to code a simulation? By simulation I mean a model of real world relationships (i.e. like Civilization which is a simulation of ruling nations through various historical settings). For example, could someone who codes word processing application necessarily know how to do a simulation of economic relationships between banks and enterprises if he/she had access to an economist? Is the skill of being able to translate in one's head realworld relationships into a model represented by code an inherent/native skill of all programmers? Two, is Python a good language for simulation programming? Thank you all! - Richard Blackwood -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
