Discrete Simulation

[Tim Roberts]

Rather than post a question seeking a solution, I thought I would post a
recommendation.

I needed to run a simulation of a USB device today, trying to decide
whether a device we are building could work with an isochronous pipe in
unfavorable conditions without overflowing its FIFOs.  I was just about to
write my own simulation, when I wondered whether there was a Python module
that could help.

I came across SimPy at http://simpy.sourceforge.net.  I have to say that it
was a very cool experience.  In under an hour, I had built a fairly
accurate simulation of a USB isochronous pipe, our device's FIFO, and a
webcam video stream.  It was easy to add a bit of randomness to simulate
poor conditions, and I got my answer in short order.
-- 
Tim Roberts, timr at probo.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.