Discrete visual simulation with Pascal_SIM

Abstract
Pascal SIM is a collection of Pascal constants, types, variables, functions and procedures for developing event, activity, three-phase or process orientated discrete-event simulation models. Facilities are provided for queue processing, time advance and event list maintenance, control of entities and resources, random number generation and streams, sampling from parametric and empirical distributions, statistics collection, and visual displays. Pascal SIM has been designed as a minimal simulation tool. It includes less than 50 functions and procedures, and totals less than 800 lines of code. It is a basis for programming simulations in Pascal, where users can alter or extend the facilities provided, rather than a simulation programming language. The majority of Pascal SIM conforms to the ISO Pascal standard, enabling high portability to be achieved. It can be used immediately with any Pascal that uses the string type descended from UCSD Pascal, for instance Pro Pascal, Turbo Pascal or Sheffield PRIME Pascal. Alteration of a few lines allows for use with any Pascal that provides a different string type, for instance VAX/VMS Pascal. This paper gives a tutorial presentation of Pascal SIM, with emphasis on the facilities for visual displays.