[moderator's note: This seems potentially useful to some
of our readers, and since it's free, I have no qualms in
posting the product announcement. It looks pretty
spiffy. - JAH]
xmds - the eXtensible Multi-Dimensional Simulator - is a
program for solving equations - fast. It is an Open Source
tool to simplify the computer modelling of various systems,
and is currently being developed within the Australian
Centre for Quantum-Atom Optics at the University of
Queensland in Australia.
There are many situations in many areas where a system of
interest can be modelled by a differential equation or
equations. Such areas include: physics, mathematics,
engineering, physical and theoretical chemistry, theoretical
and computational biology, finance, and economics. Modelling
these systems involves writing a computer program to find a
solution to the equations, which is not necessarily easy to
do. This is where xmds comes in. The advantage of using xmds
instead of doing the same job by means of conventional
programming is the same as ordering a pizza as opposed to
making one yourself. The only thing you have to learn to
become an xmds user is "How to order a pizza". There are a
couple of important differences here though: normally you
have to pay for the pizza, while xmds comes for free; and
xmds is like a gourmet pizza outlet - one has the option of
exotic things like solving stochastic equations, which the
chain-brand "pizza vendors" don't offer! xmds therefore
makes writing complex computer simulations simple.
Another major advantage of xmds is that it is free. The
source code and documentation can be freely downloaded from
the xmds web site, xmds.orgxmds.orgOpen ↗. xmds runs on Linux,
Unix (including MacOS X) and the Cygwin environment on
Windows, help for installing xmds on these systems is
available both from the web site and the xmds distribution.
xmds is especially useful in solving complex problems
requiring solving the problem over many different random
parameters. Such problems can be parallelised (run on lots
of computers at the same time) and xmds does this
automatically with little user input, making the solution of
these problems a breeze.
Often writing a computer program to solve complex problems
can be very difficult, time-consuming, and error-prone. This
is where xmds excels. One merely needs to write a script in
a high-level form which is easy for a person to understand,
and xmds goes off and writes the low-level code for you,
producing code that is better for a computer. This makes the
writing of a simulation program significantly easier,
reducing the development time, and almost eliminating bugs
since xmds has written the vast majority of the code for you
and has used thoroughly tested code and techniques in the
production of the program. The output program that xmds
writes is still about as fast as code hand-written by an
expert, so one can has the best of both worlds: quick
development time, and quick execution.
You can find examples of the use of xmds for solving complex
(and simple) problems in the examples page of the xmds web
site: xmds.orgexamplesOpen ↗.
So, if you're trying to model a bunch of atoms bouncing
around together, the diffusion of an electrolyte solution,
the reaction of enzymes with a substrate, or the volatility
of stock prices, then xmds is the simulation tool for you.
For more information visit the web site
xmds.orgxmds.orgOpen ↗.