CS-XML and model understanding.

The automated analysis of model specifications is an area that historically receives little attention in the simulation research community but which can offer significant benefits. A common objective in simulation is enhanced understanding of a system; model specification analysis can provide insights not otherwise available as well as time and cost savings in model development. The Condition Specification (CS) [1] is a model specification form that is amenable to such analysis; an XML-based representation of such is said to be in CS-XML. This paper discusses the motivations for CS-XML and presents some results from analysis efforts using CodeSurfer [2], a software static analysis tool. CS-XML also provides an essential foundation for Web Services that support the analysis of discrete-event simulation models.