Lesson 1 - Unit 3 Overview

"The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers."

- R.W. Hamming

In this Unit we will explore and run an existing model.  We won’t edit or build a model yet (we will do that in the next Unit), but we will open an existing GoldSim model and start to get used to the GoldSim user interface.

Of course, in order to do this, you must have an activated version of GoldSim on your computer.  As discussed in Unit 1, if you do not already have GoldSim, you can request a free, fully-functional Evaluation version of the software from the GoldSim website.  The Evaluation version will work for 30 days from the time that you activate it. If you are a student or a teacher, you can request a free Academic license (that lasts for 6 months and can be renewed).

In addition, in the remainder of the Course, we will refer to a number of Examples and Exercises. Hence, if you have not already done so, you should download these (a zip file containing a folder with all of the GoldSim models) to your Desktop now.  You can download the zip file here. It will unzip to a folder named “Basic GoldSim Course” containing several subfolders.

Note: The screen shots you will see in this Course, as well as all of the model files (referred to as Examples and Exercises) require the latest version of the GoldSim software (which can be found here). That is, you will not be able to open the Examples and Exercises in an older version of GoldSim.

As discussed previously, the GoldSim interface is highly graphical. You create models by inserting elements and then defining the inputs and outputs of each element. Once a model is created, you then define the simulation settings (e.g., duration and timestep length), and run the model. In this Unit, you will learn how to move around within the GoldSim interface by exploring a simple model. Specifically, you will learn how to:

• Open a model in GoldSim;
• Use the GoldSim browser and graphics pane;
• Open a context menu;
• Open an element's properties dialog;
• View the simulation settings;
• Run a model; and
• View results.

This Unit has a total of 9 Lessons (including this overview and a summary at the end).