Modeling Systems, Languages and User Interfaces

There are numerous ways to build models. ACE either has in-house codes and modeling languages or develops customized graphical user interfaces for our clients. ACE models can be a graph, a GUI, a flow chart, a network, a spreadsheet, a set of mathematical equations, or high-level mathematical representations of problems that people find reasonably natural or convenient. ACE also utilizes and helps distribute a large number of third party modeling tools and systems.

• Customized Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• Graphical Equation Editor
• Modeling Languages and Systems
• Spreadsheet Modeling
• Low-level Instance Language Representation
• Programming Languages
• Procedural Languages
• Web Forms and Applications

But no matter how the models look like, they will ultimately be converted into internal standard instances that are efficient to be transmitted over the network and universally taken by all standards-compatible computational tools.

For example, the term "mathematical programming" is often used as a synonym for “optimization” to mean the minimization or maximization of an objective function of many variables subject to constraints on the variables. Models may be categorized as linear or nonlinear (by functions), continuous or discrete (by variables), deterministic or stochastic (by parameters) etc. Models can also be formulated in various mathematical modeling systems such as AMPL, GAMS and Spreadsheet. But ultimately a standard Optimization Services instance Language (OSiL) representation is generated that can represent any types of optimization models and the same OSiL instance is taken by all standard optimization solvers. Therefore users are not locked to modeling and computing products that belong to a single vendor.

ACE have created many standard models that can be used in certain commonly occurring problem situations. However, still many other quantitative problems are unique simply because every organization has its own restrictions, limitations, and goals. ACE has strong expertise in customized modeling and consulting.

Although model building is an integral part of ACE products and services, it is still more of an art than a science. Successful model building comes with experience and practice at relating real world situations to models.