Pipes

Java Discrete Event Simulator

CS380n, Spring 2003

Razvan Surdulescu (c) 2003


[See my other software on SOFTPEDIA.]

Abstract

Pipes is a Discrete Event Simulator written in Java. It was written entirely from scratch as a final project for CS380n. It was inspired by HyPerformix's Workbench product, from which it borrows a number of concepts and visual elements.

Documentation

The documentation for Pipes is available here.

Here are the final presentations:

  1. Final Presentation 1: PDF, HTML
  2. Final Presentation 2: PDF, HTML

Source

The source for Pipes is available here.

Here is how to compile the source:

  1. Install and configure Apache Ant, version 1.5.2 or newer.
  2. Install The Mind Electric's, Electric XML parser, version 6.0.3 or newer.
  3. Download Pipes-src.zip and save it somewhere on your hard drive.
  4. Unzip it: this will create a subdirectory called "Pipes".
  5. Go to the Pipes subdirectory.
  6. Edit the file "build.xml" and change the line "<fileset dir="d:/Dev/electric/lib">" to point to the path where you installed Electric XML.
  7. Type "ant" to build the Pipes binary.

Binaries

In order to run Pipes you need to have a Java Virtual Machine installed on your computer. The product has been tested only using Sun Microsystems' Java version 1.3.1, but it should work on newer virtual machines as well.

You can run Pipes in two different ways (see below for details):

  1. Command line: download and execute manually
  2. Java WebStart: execute automatically

Command line execution

  1. Check that you have a Java Virtual Machine installed by typing java -version. Here is an example:
    C:\>java -version
java version "1.3.1_08"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.3.1_08-b03)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.3.1_08-b03, mixed mode)
    If you do not have a Java Virtual Machine installed, or if it is the wrong version, download one from here.
  2. Download the following files and store them in the same directory anywhere on your hard drive:
  4. Launch Pipes by typing java -jar Pipes.jar in the directory where you stored all the binaries above. The main window will appear on the screen shortly. Open "CarWash.xml" and play with it.

Java WebStart execution

  1. Check that you have Java WebStart installed by launching a demo application at the demos site. If you do not have Java WebStart installed, download it from here.
  2. Download the file CarWash.xml somewhere on your hard drive.
  3. Launch Pipes:
    Note: You will be prompted with a window telling you that Pipes needs unrestricted access to your local machine: this is because Pipes must be able to load and save models. Click "Start" to continue or "Exit" if you are not comfortable with this requirement.
    The main window will appear on the screen shortly. Open "CarWash.xml" and play with it.