A computer simulation language describes the operation of a simulation on a computer. There are two major types of simulation: continuous and discrete-event though more modern languages can handle combinations. Most languages also have a graphical interface and at least simple statistical gathering capability for the analysis of the results. An important part of discrete-event languages is the ability to generate pseudo-random numbers and variates from different probability distributions. Examples are:
  • Continuous simulation languages, viewing the model essentially as a set of differential equations.
  • Discrete-event simulation languages, viewing the model as a sequnce of random events each causing a change in state.
  • Others, classification unknown.