Real World Instrumentation with Python

Chapter 10. Building and Using Simulators

Is that some kind of a game you are playing?

—C. A. Chung, Simulation Modeling Handbook: A Practical Approach

So far in this book we’ve covered the basics of programming in Python, reviewed some essential electronics, and explored the tip of the iceberg of control systems theory. We’ve covered a lot, to be sure, but there is still one major topic left before we take on the challenges of actually connecting a computer to an instrument or a control system and turning it loose: simulation.

In engineering, simulation can be applied to many things, from a simple device to an entire complex system. In electronics engineering, circuit simulations are used to explore and analyze analog and digital designs well before an IC is fabricated or a soldering iron comes into play. Systems engineers build complex simulations of industrial systems to evaluate various control strategies and process flow models long before the pipes are laid out and the conveyors are installed. Military and commercial pilots are trained in realistic aircraft simulators where procedures and techniques can be learned and practiced with no risk to an actual vehicle or the people in it (or on the ground).

The primary objective of this chapter is to equip you with extensible simulation tools that you can reuse in other projects later, as well as an understanding of when and where simulation is useful, and where it is not. To this end, we’ll examine a couple of complete simulators written ...