An investigation of the system state model as a general purpose modeling tool

The system state model is Both an abstract and a computational construct for representing the activities of many classes of systems. This thesis investigates, from a user's viewpoint, the adequacy and utility of the system state model as a general purpose modeling tool. The investigation deals with the representation of complex hierarchical, simultaneous and asynchronous activities, alternative forms of conceptual representations, phased levels of specificity in problem treatment, and flexibility in modifying model specifications. The model was evaluated by applying it to the following types of classical modeling tasks. 1. Turing Machine 2. Critical Path 3- Human-Machine Interaction 4. Discrete Representation of a Continuous Process 5. Discrete Representation of a Discrete Process 6. Queueing The investigation indicates that the system state model has a wide range of application. The six examples are presented in a manner to facilitate the potential user in visualizing the application of the model to other problems. The presentation also serves as a rudimentary "user's guide" for the current IBM 360 software implementation