List and describe the main stages of developing and researching models on a computer
Using a computer to study information models of various objects and systems allows you to study their changes depending on the value of certain parameters. The process of developing models and examining them on a computer can be divided into several main stages.
Descriptive information model. At the first stage of the study of an object or process, a descriptive information model is usually built. Such a model highlights the essential, from the point of view of the objectives of the study, the parameters of the object, and neglects the insignificant parameters.
Formalized model. At the second stage, a formalized model is created, that is, a descriptive information model is written using some formal language. In such a model, using formulas, equations or inequalities, formal relations between the initial and final values of the properties of objects are fixed, and restrictions are imposed on the permissible values of these properties.
However, it is far from always possible to find formulas that explicitly express the required quantities in terms of the initial data. In such cases, approximate mathematical methods are used to obtain results with a given accuracy.
Computer model. At the third stage, it is necessary to transform the formalized information model into a computer model, that is, to express it in a computer-understandable language. There are various ways to build computer models, including:
– creation of a computer model in the form of a project in one of the programming languages;
– building a computer model using spreadsheets or other applications: computer drawing systems, database management systems, geographic information systems, etc.
In the process of creating a computer model, it is useful to develop a convenient graphical interface that will allow visualizing the formal model, as well as implementing an interactive dialogue between a person and a computer at the stage of model research.
Computer experiment. The fourth stage in the study of the information model is to conduct a computer experiment. If a computer model exists as a project in one of the programming languages, it must be run for execution, input the initial data and get the results.
If you are exploring a computer model in an application such as a spreadsheet, you can create a chart or graph, sort and search the data, or use other specialized data processing techniques.
When using a ready-made computer visual interactive model, it is necessary to enter the initial data, launch the model for execution and observe the change in the object and its values.
In virtual computer labs, you can experiment with real objects. For this, sensors for measuring physical parameters (temperature, pressure, force, etc.) are connected to the computer, the measurement data are transmitted to the computer and processed by a special program. The results of the experiment in the form of tables, graphs and diagrams are displayed on the monitor screen and can be printed.
Analysis of the results obtained and correction of the investigated model. The fifth stage consists in analyzing the results obtained and correcting the studied model. In case of inconsistency of the results obtained in the study of the information model, the measured parameters of real objects, it can be concluded that errors or inaccuracies were made at the previous stages of building the model.
For example, when constructing a descriptive qualitative model, essential properties of objects may be incorrectly selected in the process of formalization, errors in formulas may be made, etc. In these cases, it is necessary to correct the model, and the model may be refined many times until the analysis of the results shows their correspondence object under study.
