Module S4 Definitive Methods for Concurrent Systems Modelling

Timetable

Monday 10 November 1997

9.15 Module Overview and Introduction

9.45 Demonstration: The Vehicle Cruise Control Simulation

10.00 Lecture 1: A Perspective on Concurrent Systems

11.00 Coffee

11.15 Tutorial 1: Introduction to Definitive Notations / Notes on Definitive Notations

12.00 Demonstration and Laboratory: The Roomviewer

1.00 Lunch

2.00 Tutorial 2: Introduction to tkeden / key features of tkeden

2.45 Demonstration and Laboratory: jugs and VCCS worksheet

4.00 Tea

4.15 Lecture 2: Empirical Modelling for the Single Agent

5.00 Laboratory: OXO-like models

Tuesday 11 November 1997

9.00 Lecture 3: Concurrent Systems Modelling: Agentification, Artefacts, Animation

9.45 Demonstration: Railway Animation

10.00 Lecture 4: The LSD Notation for Agent Specification

11.00 Coffee

11.15 Tutorial 3: Principles of LSD Specification

12.00 Case studies: Telephone, Railway Station Animation, Electronic Catflap, VCCS etc

1.00 Lunch

2.00 Lecture 5: Artefacts in Visualisation and Concurrent Systems Modelling

2.45 Demonstration: Visual Interfaces with Scout and Donald, Digital Watch

3.00 Tutorial and Laboratory: An introduction to Scout - OXO interface, replicator

4.00 Tea

4.15 Tutorial and Laboratory: Distribution and Concurrency with tkeden + exercises + discussion agenda

Wednesday 12 November 1997

9.00 Lecture 6: Empirical Modelling as Explanatory Modelling

9.45 Back to the Future: Current Computing in Railway History

10.30 A Practical Exercise on LSD: Historical Railway Accidents

11.00 Coffee

11.15 Case Study: Historical Railway Accidents

12.00 Discussion of Railway Accidents

1.00 Lunch

2.00 Video: One Day in Severn

2.30 Tutorial 5: Observables in Railway Interaction

3.00 Laboratory: The Great Game of Britain

4.00 Tea

4.15 Seminar 1: Concurrent Engineering for Concurrent Systems / notes on group discussions

5.00 Laboratory

Thursday 13 November 1997

9.00 Lecture 7: The Abstract Definitive Machine

10.00 Tutorial 6: Animating LSD specifications in the ADM

10.15 Case studies: Beetles, Classroom Interaction, Railway Animation

11.00 Coffee

11.15 Lecture 8: The ADM in Computer-based Empirical Modelling

12.00 Tutorial 7: Linking the ADM and EDEN - OXO in the ADM

1.00 Lunch

2.00 Laboratory and Review of Previous Projects

4.00 Tea

4.15 Seminar 2: From Principles vs. Pragmatism to Principled Pragmatism

5.00 Laboratory

Friday 14 November 1997

9.00 Lecture 9: Issues for EM, Future Research Directions and Projects

10.00 Laboratory and Individual Consultations

11.00 Coffee

11.15 Laboratory and Individual Consultations

12.00 Concluding Discussion

12.45 Module Debriefing

1.00 Lunch / End

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Footnote:

The Wed seminar session on Concurrent Engineering for Concurrent Systems was a group discussion in which four different topics were reviewed: A. Concurrent Systems Simulation, B: Concurrent Room Design, C: Multi-person Games, D: Definitive Programming.

The group discussion on topic D involved trying to conceive procedural programming in Empirical Modelling terms -- making analogies that that might be the basis for reinterpreting a procedural program as an EM artefact that could realise its functionality in a conceptually simpler and potentially more open-ended fashion. The following notes were made as a basis for the discussion:

• procedure calls summoning / dismissing agents
• assignment recording side-effects of agent action
• autocalc limiting agent reaction / visibility
• iteration monitoring of many agents acting in parallel
• variables observables
• invariants definitions + circumscription
• procedural failures as conceptual errors (so reportable)
  as tolerable singularities
• limitations of procedural spec of fns

consequences of procedural failures interface: failure via screen

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Annotated draft of S4 ed 6 timetable

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Assignment proposed topics