The N-Body Problem in Lotos

Abstract

It is shown how the classical n-body problem in mechanics can be generalised and formalised in Lotos. A number of variants are produced by instantiation of the specification framework. These include Newton's cradle, gas motion, the ‘game of life’, an orrery, a space game, an air traffic simulation and a sailing race. It is shown how these are derived from the generic framework using a configuration tool. The resulting Lotos specifications are simulated automatically to graphically animate the system behaviour.