
                                 SimParm v0.02
                                ===============
                      http://www.kev.pulo.com.au/simparm/

                                   Kevin Pulo
                             kevin.pulo@anu.edu.au
                                kev@pulo.com.au

Abstract
---------

The configuration of parameters in simulation software is an often overlooked
aspect of the development process.  SimParm is a C++ framework that alleviates
the burden of managing configuration parameters from software developers.  It
has been designed to be simple, easy to use and flexible, both when defining
parameters and using them in the simulation.  Plain text configuration files
are supported, as well as overriding values on the command line.  SimParm
allows interactive real-time adjustment of parameters during the simulation -
when running locally and remotely.  Furthermore, multiple users can adjust
parameters, allowing collaborative exploration of the parameter space.  This
helps users to determine suitable parameter values for unfamiliar datasets -
even when the dataset is too large to run be run on the local workstation.
This paper describes the design and usage of SimParm, and includes an example
application of a simple mass-spring simulation of a triangular mesh.


Requirements
-------------

1. C++ compiler for libsimparm
2. Python v1.5 or higher for multiplexor
3. Java2 1.5 or higher SDK (to compile) or JRE (to run) for twiddler
4. GNU make
5. A POSIX compliant system is probably a requirement


Compilation Instructions
-------------------------

1. Edit the top-level Makefile, set installation directories and choose
   compiler and/or compiler options.

2. Run 'make' (or 'gmake').

3. Run 'make install' to install into the directories specified in the
   top-level Makefile.

4. Run 'make clean' to clean the object files.


Usage Instructions
-------------------

To use SimParm, please refer to the example programs located in the examples/
subdirectory, and to the paper

    Kevin Pulo, "SimParm: A simple, flexible and collaborative
    configuration framework for interactive and batch simulation
    software", ISC07

which is available from the SimParm website

    http://www.kev.pulo.com.au/simparm/

More detailed usage documentation will be available in future releases of
SimParm.


License
--------

SimParm is Free Software, under the terms and conditions of the GNU Lesser
General Public License (LGPL).  This means that you are free to use it in your
own software, free to distribute it (both with and without your own software),
including software derived from SimParm --- as long as the source code is also
distributed or made available with the software.  For full details, refer to
the file 'COPYING'.


Feedback
---------

If you find SimParm useful, or if you find any bugs, or would like to offer
suggestions for improvements, please contact Kevin Pulo by email at
kevin.pulo@anu.edu.au or kev@pulo.com.au.


