Bio7 description
An IDE for ecological modeling with a main focus on individual based modeling and spatially explicit models.

Bio7 is an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for ecological modelling that focuses mainly on spatially explicit models and individually based modeling.

The application itself is based on a RCP-Eclipse-Environment (Rich-Client-Platform) which offers a huge flexibility in configuration and extensibility because of its plug-in structure and the possibility of customization.

In this platform powerful known tools were integrated for the purpose of simulations and analysis of ecological systems. A lot of complexity of a modeling process is hidden behind a user-friendly flexible Graphical User Interface which should assist the development and analysis of simulation models for different ecosystems.

Therefore Bio7 offers and embeds also powerful and well proofed third party tools which are capable to do Image Analysis (ImageJ), Statistical Analysis (R), an easy to learn scripting language (BeanShell) to ease the development of simulation models and an embedded Compiler for the need of speed in complex calculations.

Additionally editors (Java, R, BeanShell) and different panels for visualization are integrated for an easier development. Communication in between the different components is possible by means of scripts and compiled code and can be collected in a flowchart for Sensitivity-Analysis, etc. Furthermore an advantage of this platform is the plugin structure which can be extended with all kind of third-party plugins to support theoretical hypothesis on ecosystems functioning and the understanding of complex systems.

Here are some key features of "Bio7":

· Creation and analysis of spatial explicit simulation models.
· Statistical analysis (R).
· Spatial statistics (possibility to send values from a specialized panel to R).
· Image Analysis (embedded ImageJ).
· Fast communication between R and Java (with RServe) and the possibilty to use R methods inside Java.
· Interpretation of Java and script creation (with BeanShell).
· Direct compilation of Java (Janino).
· Creation of methods for Java, BeanShell and R (integrated editors for Java, R, BeanShell).
· Sensitivity analysis with an embedded flowchart editor in which scripts, macros and compiled code can be dragged and executed.