ASCEND is an open source , mathematical modelling chemical process modelling system developed at Carnegie Mellon University since late 1978. ASCEND is an acronym which stands for Advanced System for Computations in Engineering Design. Its main uses have been in the field of chemical process modelling although its capabilities are general.
6-398: ASCEND includes nonlinear algebraic solvers , differential/algebraic equation solvers, nonlinear optimization and modelling of multi-region 'conditional models'. Its matrix operations are supported by an efficient sparse matrix solver called mtx . ASCEND differs from earlier modelling systems because it separates the solving strategy from model building. So domain experts (people writing
12-445: A general search engine ). General solvers typically use an architecture similar to the GPS to decouple a problem's definition from the strategy used to solve it. The advantage in this decoupling is that the solver does not depend on the details of any particular problem instance. The strategy utilized by general solvers was based on a general algorithm (generally based on backtracking ) with
18-448: Is a particular computer program created in 1957 by Herbert Simon , J. C. Shaw , and Allen Newell intended to work as a universal problem solver, that theoretically can be used to solve every possible problem that can be formalized in a symbolic system, given the right input configuration. It was the first computer program that separated its knowledge of problems (in the form of domain rules) from its strategy of how to solve problems (as
24-567: The Google Summer of Code programme in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 (under the Python Software Foundation) and has been accepted for the 2015 programme as well. This scientific software article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This free and open-source software article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Solver A solver is a piece of mathematical software , possibly in
30-430: The form of a stand-alone computer program or as a software library , that 'solves' a mathematical problem. A solver takes problem descriptions in some sort of generic form and calculates their solution. In a solver, the emphasis is on creating a program or library that can easily be applied to other problems of similar type. Types of problems with existing dedicated solvers include: The General Problem Solver ( GPS )
36-442: The models) and computational engineers (people writing the solver code) can work separately in developing ASCEND. Together with a number of other early modelling tools, its architecture helped to inspire newer languages such as Modelica . It was recognised for its flexible use of variables and parameters, which it always treats as solvable, if desired The software remains as an active open-source software project, and has been part of
#283716