An evaluation of DEVS simulation tools

DEVS is a popular formalism for modeling complex dynamic systems using a discrete-event abstraction. Owing to its popularity, and the simplicity of the simulation kernel, a number of tools have been constructed by academia and industry. However, each of these tools has distinct design goals and a specific programming language implementation. Consequently, each supports a specific set of formalisms, combined with a specific set of features. Performance differs significantly between different tools. We provide an overview of the current state of eight different DEVS simulation tools: ADEVS, CD++, DEVS-Suite, MS4 Me, PowerDEVS, PythonPDEVS, VLE, and X-S-Y. We compare supported formalisms, compliance, features, and performance. This paper aims to help modelers in deciding which tools to use to solve their specific problems. It further aims to help tool builders, by showing the aspects of their tools that could be extended in future tool versions.

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