Rome wasn't built in a day, nor was ExtendSim. After 30 years of construction, it has remained an industry leading, trusted, and pretty amazing simulation tool...at least that's what our users are telling us! We'd like to introduce you to this powerful, leading edge simulation tool.

Using ExtendSim, you can develop dynamic models of existing or proposed processes in a wide variety of fields. Use ExtendSim to create models from building blocks, explore the processes involved, and see how they relate. Then change assumptions to arrive at an optimum solution. ExtendSim and your imagination are all you need to create professional models that meet your business, industrial, and academic needs.

Simulation with ExtendSim

ExtendSim is an easy-to-use, yet extremely powerful, tool for simulating processes. It helps you understand complex systems and produce better results faster. With ExtendSim you can:

  • Predict the course and results of certain actions.
  • Gain insight and stimulate creative thinking.
  • Visualize your processes logically or in a virtual environment.
  • Identify problem areas before implementation.
  • Explore the potential effects of modifications.
  • Confirm that all variables are known.
  • Optimize your operations.
  • Evaluate ideas and identify inefficiencies.
  • Understand why observed events occur.
  • Communicate the integrity and feasibility of your plans.

What ExtendSim can do

ExtendSim allows you to simulate any system or process by creating a logical representation in an easy-to-use format.

Modeling capabilities

With ExtendSim, you get powerful modeling constructs, including:

  • A full set of building blocks that allow you to build models rapidly.
  • A customizable graphical interface that depicts the relationships in the modeled system.
  • Unlimited hierarchical decomposition making enterprise-wide models easy to build and understand.
  • Dialogs, Notebooks, and integrated relational databases for changing model values, so you can quickly try out assumptions and interface with your model dynamically.
  • Animation of the model for enhanced presentation.
  • A full-featured authoring environment for building user-friendly front ends that simplify model interaction and enhance communication.
  • The ability to adjust settings dynamically, while the simulation is running.
  • An equation editor for creating custom-compiled equations.
  • The ability to create new blocks with custom dialogs and icons.
  • Complete scalability since model size is limited only by the limits of your system.
  • Evolutionary optimization, scenario management, confidence intervals, Monte Carlo, batch-mode, and sensitivity analysis.
  • Customizable reports and charts for presentation and in-depth analysis.
  • Activity-based costing capabilities for analyzing cost contributors.
  • Full connectivity and interactivity with other programs and platforms.
Simulation architecture

A robust architecture adds advanced features to make it the most scalable simulation system available:

  • Multi-purpose simulation. ExtendSim is a multi-domain environment so you can dynamically model continuous, discrete event, discrete rate, reliability block diagramming, agent-based, linear, non-linear, and mixed-mode systems.
  • Library based. The blocks you build can be saved in libraries and easily reused in other models.
  • Integrated compiled programming language and dialog editor, optimized for simulation. Modify ExtendSim's blocks or build your own for specialized applications.
  • Scripting support. Build and run models remotely, either from an ExtendSim block or from another application.
  • Integrated support for other programming languages. Use ExtendSim's built-in APIs to access code created in Delphi, C++ Builder, Visual Basic, Visual C++, etc.
  • Over 1000 functions. Directly access functions for integration, statistics, queueing, animation, IEEE math, matrix, sounds, arrays, FFT, debugging, DLLs, string and bit manipulation, I/O, and so on; you can also define your own functions.
  • Message sending. Blocks can send messages to other blocks interactively for sub processing.
  • Sophisticated data-passing capabilities. Pass values, arrays, or structures composed of arrays.
  • Full support for a wide range of data types and structures. Arrays, linked-lists, and integers, real, and string data types are built in.
  • Integrated data linking. Connect block dialog data to internal databases.
  • More than 3 decades in the making... ExtendSim is an innovative, revolutionary simulation tool.

ExtendSim packages

All ExtendSim Model Developer Editions have the same core set of capabilities. ExtendSim CP is the base package and is used for continuous modeling. Subsequent packages add modules designed for specific markets -- discrete event in ExtendSim DE and discrete rate, reliability block diagramming, plus advanced simulation technology in ExtendSim Pro. For more details on available packages, see ExtendSim Product Line.

Levels of use

You can use ExtendSim on many levels:

  • Run pre-assembled models and explore alternatives by changing the data. If you work in a group environment, one or more authors can create models for others to run for experimentation. The author can also build a custom front end to facilitate user interaction with the model. Non-modelers can run pre-assembled models, change data, and obtain results.
  • Assemble your own models from the blocks that come with ExtendSim. ExtendSim is shipped with libraries of blocks to handle most modeling needs. To assemble a model, pull blocks from libraries and link connectors on the blocks. You can also assemble your own hierarchical blocks of subsystems and save them in libraries. This saves starting from scratch when you're building a model of a process that has elements in common with a previous model.
  • Use the integrated development environment to create new blocks that conform to the ExtendSim modeling architecture. The development environment is optimized for simulation and allows you to create blocks with custom code, dialogs, and icons and use them in your models just as you would other ExtendSim blocks. You can also modify the blocks that come with ExtendSim to work with your specific needs.
  • Develop your own modeling architecture, conventions, and features. With the ExtendSim development environment, you can create a custom set of blocks with unique interfaces, communication protocols, and behaviors. This new architecture can be continuous, discrete event, discrete rate, agent-based, or an entirely new type of simulation.
  • Automate your model building using the scripting functions to build wizards, or by using ActiveX/COM. You can use ActiveX/COM or block-based wizards to cause models to be automatically created or modified. Models can also be programmatically created from a user input form or data file. This allows the modeling environment to be utilized indirectly by end-users who have little or no simulation experience.