Plant Simulation Advanced Course

⏱ Duration: 40 hours

Expand SimTalk proficiency, build custom user interfaces, integrate external data, and construct complex logistical networks using standard objects.

Course Outline

Block 1: Data Management in SimTalk
  • Data types (Arrays, Lists, Strings).
  • String manipulation and data conversions.
  • Working with DataTables (Searching, sorting, and looping through rows via code).
  • Dynamic creation of objects during runtime (Create/Delete in code).
  • Object references (Saving pointers to specific objects in variables/tables using the object data type).
Block 2: Controlling Transporters with SimTalk
  • Building a robust transport network via SimTalk (Focusing on OnDestination, OnDistance, OnCollision).
  • Scripting and defining dynamic routes.
  • Creating custom dispatching and prioritization logic for Transporters.
Block 3: User Interfaces and Interaction
  • Introduction to the Dialog object.
  • Building custom UIs (Buttons, Checkboxes, Dropdowns).
  • Connecting UI elements to methods and tables to control the model.
  • Customizing 2D icons and basic graphical states.
Block 4: Troubleshooting and Code Quality
  • Event Debugger (Stepping through code to identify incorrect logic).
  • Method Profiler (Finding performance bottlenecks in the code).
  • Error handling in SimTalk (try/catch equivalents).
  • Best practices for SimTalk performance and maintainability.
Block 5: External Integration & Final Case Study
  • Importing and exporting data to/from Excel.
  • Summary Advanced Case Study: Building a model that reads initialization data and parameters from external sources.