Y. I. Brodskii ,   V. V. Tokarev Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), Oxford, EOLSS Publishers Co. Ltd., , 12.2001 , p. 10, language: английский  Аннотация Simulation in general pretends to deal with a real thing, while really working with an imitation. In Operations Research the simulation is a computer model of the imitated reality. Computer simulation is a fundamental discipline for studying complex systems. One of the great values of simulation is its ability to effect time and space decomposition of the system, which allows comprehending the system behavior in minutes or hours, while normally, that would take a very long time. Like any other discipline, simulation must grow and be fine-tuned so that it maintains its position as the base methodology for doing computational science and constructing virtual worlds.  Ключевые слова simulation, complex systems, concepts of simulation, decomposition, parallel and distributed simulation, web-based simulation, simulation software, instrumental systems for simulation, special purpose simulation systems.