Analyzing Agent-Based Models Using Category Theory

Agent-based models are a useful technique for rapidly prototyping complex social systems, they are widely used in a number of disciplines and can yield theoretical insights that are different from those produced by a variable based analysis. However, it remains difficult to compare the results of two models and to validate the performance of an agent-based simulation. In this paper, we present a case study on how to analyze the relationship between agent-based models using category theory. Category theory is a powerful mathematical methodology that was originally introduced to organize mathematical ideas according to their shared structure. It has been successfully employed in abstract mathematical domains, but has also enjoyed some success as a formalism for software engineering. Here we present a procedure for analyzing agent-based models using category theory and a case study in its usage at analyzing two different types of simulations.