The Simulator is a visualization tool. With this tool it is possible to form a graphical representation or an animation based on the formal model of the system. It is a sub application of the NCES Analyzer.
The graphical representations of the systems' behaviour that can be formed with the Simulator are of often more illustrative than the complex CTL formulas that need to be constructed with Model Checking tools.
In order to visualize the functioning of a system one must first obtain a visual model for it.
The Simulator features an intuitive graphical user interface that allows editing visual models and drawing completely new ones. The image below shows the main window of the user interface. On the right there is the Properties window.
The menu bar on the top of the window contains four menus.
On the left below the menu bar there is the button column which contains tools for manipulating the visual model. The visual model is displayed in the draw area which is located to the right of the button column.
On the bottom of the Simulator window there is a text area forming a sort of a log view. Important messages during the use of the Simulator are displayed here.
The Properties window is similar to the one used in NCES Editor. It can be used to directly modify the properties of the elements in the draw area.
On the top of the window there is a combo box where you can select an element to be modified. The selected elements properties are displayed in the table below the combo box. An alternative way to select an element is to left-click on it in the draw area. To edit the value of a property double-click its value. Modify the value with the keyboard and finally press Enter key. Note that not all properties of some elements can be assigned new values.
An element can be removed by selecting it and then clicking on the Remove button in the Properties window.