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Version 2.0 (R2007a) SimEvents Software

This table summarizes what's new in Version 2.0 (R2007a):

New Features and ChangesVersion Compatibility ConsiderationsFixed Bugs and Known ProblemsRelated Documentation at Web Site
Yes
Details below
Yes—Details labeled as Compatibility Considerations, below. See also Summary.Bug Reports
Includes fixes
No

New features and changes introduced in this version are

Attributes Support Multidimensional Values

Version 2.0 (R2007a) introduces new versions of the Get Attribute and Set Attribute blocks in a new Attributes library. The new blocks offer these enhancements compared to the earlier versions:

Compatibility Considerations

If your legacy models contain Get Attribute or Set Attribute blocks from the earlier library, those blocks continue to work in Version 2.0 (R2007a). However, the blocks are considered obsolete, as described in Obsolete Blocks.

Combining and Splitting Entities

The new Entity Combiner block lets you combine entities, analogous to combining components to create a larger whole. The block provides options for managing information (attributes and timers) associated with the component entities, so you can think of the operation as bundling the information that entities carry with them.

You can configure the Entity Combiner block to make the combining operation reversible via the Entity Splitter block.

The Entity Combiner and Entity Splitter blocks reside in the new Entity Management library.

Timeout Feature Establishes Entity Time Limits

You can model point-to-point timing constraints by limiting the amount of time an entity spends during the simulation on designated entity paths. Exceeding the limit causes the entity to depart immediately from the storage block where it resides, such as a queue, when the clock reaches the time limit. To learn how to use this feature, see Forcing Departures Using Timeouts.

The timeout feature involves new blocks, as well as new parameters in existing blocks.

New BlockPurpose
Schedule TimeoutSchedule timeout event for each entity
Cancel TimeoutCancel timeout event for each entity

Existing Blocks with New Timeout-Related Parameters

New Parameter of Existing BlocksPurpose
Enable TO port for timed-out entities on Timeout tabProvide a TO entity output port through which an entity departs upon timing out
Number of entities timed out on Statistics tabOutput a signal, #to, that indicates the number of entities that have timed out from the block since the start of the simulation

Compatibility Considerations

If you save a model containing a queue, server, or Output Switch block using V2.0 (R2007a), then opening the model in V1.2 (R2006b) produces warnings like these:

Warning: In instantiating linked block 'mysys/FIFO Queue' :
FIFO Queue block (mask) does not have a parameter named
'EnableTOPort'.
Warning: In instantiating linked block 'mysys/FIFO Queue' :
FIFO Queue block (mask) does not have a parameter named
'StatNumberTimedout'.

Saving the model in the earlier version prevents the warnings from reappearing, but causes the block to omit timeout-related ports and behavior if you later open the model in V2.0 (R2007a).

New Demos for Video Processing, Communications, and Architecture Modeling

Version 2.0 (R2007a) introduces these new demonstration models:

Tutorial Demos

Application Demos

Change in ARQ Demo

The Selective-Repeat Automatic Repeat Request demo reverses the interpretation of the CRC check compared to V1.2 (R2006b). The interpretation now matches that of the similar Go-Back-N Automatic Repeat Request demo. In V2.0 (R2007a), both demos use a CRC check value of 1 to correspond to an ACK message.

Output Switch Block Options for Storage and Initial Condition

The Output Switch block offers enhancements that can prevent the need for additional blocks to set initial conditions or to prevent latency. The new parameters apply to signal-based switching and are available only when you set Switching criterion to From signal port p. The new parameters are in the table below. For details, see Output Switching Based on a Signal and the block's reference page.

New ParameterPurpose
Specify initial port selectionDetermine whether the block uses an initial port selection from the dialog box.
Initial port selectionThe entity output port that the block selects when the simulation begins. The block uses this value instead of the p signal until the signal has its first sample time hit.
Store entity before switchingIf you select this option, the block can store one entity at a time. Furthermore, the block decouples its arrival and departure processing to give other blocks in the simulation an opportunity to update the p signal if appropriate. If you do not select this option, the block processes an arrival and departure as an atomic operation and assumes that the p signal is already up to date at the given time.
Status of pending entity on Statistics tabOutput a signal, pe, that indicates when the block stores an entity after trying and failing to output it. A value of 0 indicates when the storage location is empty.

For other changes in this release that affect parameters of the Output Switch block, see Timeout Feature Establishes Entity Time Limits and Changes in Names of Parameters Related to Event Priorities.

Compatibility Considerations

In some cases, the block enhancements let you optionally simplify models that you do not need to share with users of earlier versions:

If you save a model containing an Output Switch block using V2.0 (R2007a), then opening the model in V1.2 (R2006b) produces warnings like these:

Warning: In instantiating linked block 'mysys/Output Switch' :
Output Switch block (mask) does not have a parameter named
'InitialConditionsOpt'.
Warning: In instantiating linked block 'mysys/Output Switch' :
Output Switch block (mask) does not have a parameter named
'InitialConditions'.
Warning: In instantiating linked block 'mysys/Output Switch' :
Output Switch block (mask) does not have a parameter named
'EntityBufferOpt'.
Warning: In instantiating linked block 'mysys/Output Switch' :
Output Switch block (mask) does not have a parameter named
'StatPendingEntity'.

Saving the model in the earlier version prevents the warnings from reappearing, but causes the block to omit ports and behavior related to the V2.0 (R2007a) enhancements if you later open the model in V2.0 (R2007a).

Entity Departure Counter Block Can Create Attribute

If you configure the Entity Departure Counter block to write the count to an attribute, then you can select the new Create attribute if not present parameter to have the block create the attribute if it does not already exist. The block then sets the value of the attribute according to the entity count.

In earlier versions, the block sets the value of the attribute but does not create it.

Changes in Names of Parameters Related to Event Priorities

Parameters related to optional priorities of events have been renamed to be more suggestive of how the option works. The name Resolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority replaces names that start with Specify event priority. In a subset of affected blocks, the name Event priority replaces similar names. For more information about what the parameters mean, see Choosing How to Resolve Simultaneous Signal Updates.

The table below itemizes the blocks and parameters that have changed.

BlockParameter Name in V1.2 (R2006b)Parameter Name in V2.0 (R2007a)
Discrete Event InportSpecify event priority for executing subsystemResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Subsystem execution event priorityEvent priority
Enabled GateSpecify event priority for gate opening and closingResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Entity Departure CounterSpecify event priority for counter resetResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Event-Based Entity GeneratorSpecify event priority for entity generationResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Generation event priorityEvent priority
Input SwitchSpecify event priority for port selectionResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Output SwitchSpecify event priority for port selectionResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Path CombinerSpecify event priority for port precedence selectionResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Release GateSpecify event priority for gate openingResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Signal LatchSpecify event priority for writing to memoryResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority on Write tab
Specify event priority for reading from memoryResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority on Read tab
Signal-Based Event to Function-Call EventSpecify event priority for function-call generationResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Function-call event priorityEvent priority
Signal-Based Function-Call Event GeneratorSpecify event priority for function-call generationResolve simultaneous signal updates according to event priority
Function-call event priorityEvent priority

This change merely renames parameters and does not change the behavior of affected blocks.

Change in Default Entity Type of Entity Generators

The default value of Entity type in the Time-Based Entity Generator and Event-Based Entity Generator block is Blank. In earlier versions, the default value is Standard. This change in default value does not affect blocks in a saved model but only affects new instances of the block that you copy from the library to a model.

Obsolete Blocks

The table below indicates blocks that are obsolete as of the current version or that are planned to be removed in a future version.

Obsolete BlockRemoved from VersionReplacement
Get Attribute block from simeventsattributes1 libraryFuture versionGet Attribute block from simeventsattributes2 library
Set Attribute block from simeventsattributes1 libraryFuture versionSet Attribute block from simeventsattributes2 library

  


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