System Design


	The general interface for our Ant Simulation will be divided into two windows, the ?Options Window? and the "Ant Playground?.  All of the parameters for the run of the system will be set prior to running the simulation. In other word our program will not allow dynamic modification of the parameters once the system is running. 
	The Options Window will contain drop down boxes where users can select several of the system parameters prior to the run of the simulation. The Options Window will also contain boxes that update statistics of the simulation run for every cycle of the system. This window also has a top menu where the user can load in different maps for the simulation.  The parameters the user can modify are: Number of Ants, Pheremone Decay Rate, and Map Selection. The Number of Ants parameter will be represented as a number range in the drop down box, this parameter will allow the user to view the effects of increasing the ant population on the simulation. Pheremone Decay Rate will be represented as a static rate of decay of pheremone per cycle, this parameter will allow the user to view the effects of lowering/increasing the rate of decay on the dynamics of the system.  The Map selection parameter will be represented as numbered list (ex. ?Map 1?, ?Map 2" ...), this parameter allows the user to select a number of pre-defined maps, and possibly a randomly generated map. The purpose of pre-defined maps is to enable the user to run multiple different simulations on the same map and to view the effects of obstacle placement on the ant?s behavior.
	The user will also be able to view current statistics during the run of the simulation in the Options Window. The user will be able to see the Current Number of Ants, Total Food Collected, and a rate of Food Collected per cycle. These will be updated on the screen for every cycle of the simulation. The system will also output a log file that contains these statistics for every cycle in file form for use in analysis.  The user will also be able to load compatible map files from the File menu in the Options Window.  The Options Window will also contain a legend that will show the user what each color represents in the Ant Playground.
	The other window in our system is the Ant Playground. This window will give the user a graphical display of the current state of the simulation and also allow a user to control the speed of the simulation, or stop it at a specific point. This window will contain three buttons to control the simulation: Play, Pause/Step, Stop. The Play button will begin the simulation using the parameters set in the Options Window and will disable the parameters in the option window once pressed, it will also continue the simulation at its current state after a press of the Pause/Step button. The Pause/Step button will allow the user to pause the simulation at the instant the user presses the button and repeated presses of the will advance the simulation a set number of cycles. The Stop button will stop the simulation at its current state and re-enable the parameters to be set as well as generating the log file. A simulation cannot be started from its current state after the Stop button is pressed. 
	The other part of the Ant Playground will be the actual map space. Upon the start of the simulation, this space will display the environment, obstacles, food, nest and ants as differently colored pixels. The user will be able to interpret these using the legend in the Options Window. The size of the Ant Playground will be determined by the size of the map being used.