Swarm: applications

Latest revision as of 05:57, 16 August 2011

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We make a wide variety of Swarm models available. These illustrate the many different kinds of research questions addressed using agent-based models, and provide example ideas and software for other modelers.

[edit] Demo page

For newcomers, here is a peek at a couple of classic Swarm applications.

[edit] How to choose and run example applications

(For a discussion of Java vs. Objective-C, see the FAQ: Swarm_FAQ)

[edit] Objective-C applications

Listed below are sites where you can download Objective-C Swarm models. To run them:

• Download and un-zip the archive. The archives are usually in TAR GZIP format (e.g., HeatBugs.tar.gz), which you can unzip (in a Linux terminal window or, if using Windows, in Cygwin) by typing "tar xzvf HeatBugs.tar.gz".
• Change directories into the newly unzipped directory of source code (in a Linux terminal window or, if using Windows, in Cygwin).
• If your Swarm installation is set up correctly, you can then compile the application by simply typing "make". (If you get a message something like "Makefile: ... /Makefile.appl: No such file or directory..." then you do not have the environment variable SWARMHOME set correctly. Keep reading...)
• If compilation is successful, you will have a new executable file (e.g., "heatbugs.exe" in Windows; "heatbugs" in Linux). Then you can start the model by typing "./heatbugs.exe" (or, in Linux, "./heatbugs").
• A common problem is not having your system's SWARMHOME environment variable correctly pointed to the location of your Swarm installation. SWARMHOME should typically be /usr/local/ or /usr/ if you've installed it from a binary package on a GNU/Linux system. For Windows, see Windows_binary_notes

[edit] Java applications

We provide step-by-step instructions for compiling and running the Java program Jheatbugs-3.0 on Windows XP using Swarm 2.2. Our demo covers interactive (visual) mode as well as batch mode (multiple runs with output to files).

Other Java Swarm models are listed below.

[edit] Official applications archive

Our official archive of Swarm applications is at http://ftp.swarm.org/pub/swarm/apps/. Even though these models are generally old, many of them still work in Swarm 2.2. There are far more Objective-C than Java applications in the archive.

The archive includes Java versions of the Swarm classics heatbugs and mousetrap. The versions that worked with Swarm-2.1.1 and Swarm-2.2 are currently available in the testing subdirectory of the ftp archive. Look for jheatbugs-2001-03-28.tar.gz and jmousetrap-2001-09-13.tar.gz.

We strongly encourage people to contribute new applications! The site includes a form for describing contributions.

[edit] Paul Johnson's package of Objective-C applications

Paul Johnson has generously assembled a new package of applications for Swarm-2.2. This is a revised version, correcting a couple of glitches in saving of screen snapshots. It is available from Paul's web site: http://www.ku.edu/~pauljohn/Swarm/swarmapps-objc-2.2-2.tar.gz and also at the Swarm download site: http://ftp.swarm.org/pub/swarm/apps/objc/sdg/swarmapps-objc-2.2-2.tar.gz. Please keep testing and let Paul know how it works.

The package contains classic example Swarm applications, including:

• The Swarm tutorial (discussed in the Swarm User Guide)
• Heatbugs
• Mousetrap
• ArborgamesII (a simulation of forests used in publications by M. Savage et al.)
• SchellingII (Schelling's neighborhood segregation model)
• Conway (the Game of Life)
• sss (Swarm Sugar Scape).

We are soliciting volunteers who want to maintain some 'orphaned' applications from swarmapps-2.1.1. These apps that need love and attention are market, template, and hello-world. If you are interested in taking on one of those applications, or offering up other applications, contact PJ.

[edit] Additional links

• The world-famous Artificial Stock Market has its own homepage at http://artstkmkt.sourceforge.net (Objective-C)
• Paul Johnson keeps many examples of Swarm-related code, his own models, and other people's models, at: http://www.ku.edu/~pauljohn/Swarm/
• Keep your eye on the Agent-based modeling community pages for projects using Swarm.
• See the software resources at the ABM Resources area of the wiki for a series of template models in Java and Objective-C Swarm, and for guidance on using Swarm with integrated development environments.