Code analysis and CS-XML

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) (Overstreet and Nance 1985) represents a model specification form that is amenable to analysis. This paper discusses the motivations for and the creation of CS-XML; a translator for CSes into XML-based condition specifications; and a translator for CS-XML into fully-executable C/C++ code. It presents initial results from analysis efforts using CodeSurfer (Anderson et al. 2003), a software static analysis tool, and discusses future work. In conclusion, it is argued that the CS-XML can provide an essential foundation for Web services that support the analysis of discrete-event simulation models.