A compositional, constraint-based model of statics

The author presents a solution to a variety of statics problems using a declarative and executable model. The flexibility of this model is its ability to answer a variety of queries about a physical mechanism, providing the means for simulation, control or evaluation. This model possesses a well-defined compositional operator by which physical systems may be assembled from constituent parts. The model is achieved by means of a rule-based and constraint-based language. Constraint solving aids in flexibility by providing equations and inequalities without a specified order of evaluation. Rules provide additional flexibility by allowing nondeterminism, while providing ease-of-use through a declarative description of the model