A software architecture for interoperable, evolvable, near real-time simulations

An architecture based on the design concept of data communication encapsula tion via a layer of abstraction has been developed for simulations to inter operate asynchronously in near real time. It has been used to develop groun d vehicle simulations for a variety of Army programs. One benefit is that r esulting simulations are interoperable and evolvable to accommodate technol ogical and methodological advances in hardware and software. The developmen t process also benefits, because in order to effectively utilize the archit ecture, designers must first specify all subsystem interactions. This facil itates requirements-to-design mapping before coding, reduces rework during system integration and promotes designing using application domain concepts .