Considering the fact that any circuit containing an ideal switch is nonlinear, we developed a model for the ideal switch that is applicable in a general-purpose time-domain circuit simulation program. The switch is considered as a circuit element and used simply as any other circuit element. This model is simple to implement in a simulation program and it avoids numerical instability. One of its most important properties is that it handles difficult situations such as managing the Dirac pulse that is encountered when switching off a real inductance