How do you create and use entity sets and entity lists in Arena?

2 How to create entity sets and entity lists?

To create an entity set or an entity list, you need to use the Advanced Transfer panel in the Model window. You can access this panel by clicking on the Advanced Transfer button in the toolbar, or by right-clicking on any module and selecting Advanced Transfer.

In the Advanced Transfer panel, you can specify the name, type, and size of your entity set or entity list. You can also choose whether to make it global or local, meaning that it can be accessed by any module or only by the module where it is created. You can also define the initial contents of your entity set or entity list, or leave it empty.

3 How to use entity sets and entity lists?

To use entity sets and entity lists, you need to use the Set and List commands in the Logic section of the Advanced Transfer panel. These commands allow you to perform various operations on your entity sets and entity lists, such as adding, removing, sorting, searching, or iterating.

For example, you can use the Set command to add an entity to an entity set, or to remove an entity from an entity set. You can also use the Set command to check whether an entity belongs to an entity set, or to get the size of an entity set.

You can use the List command to add an entity to the end or the beginning of an entity list, or to remove an entity from any position in an entity list. You can also use the List command to sort an entity list based on an entity attribute, or to search for an entity in an entity list based on an entity attribute. You can also use the List command to iterate through an entity list using a loop or a conditional statement.

4 Why use entity sets and entity lists?

Entity sets and entity lists can help you improve your simulation design and performance in several ways. For instance, you can use them to simplify your model logic by grouping entities that share similar characteristics, reduce your model size, increase flexibility, and enhance analysis. Additionally, you can collect and display statistics on your entity sets and entity lists.

5 How to learn more about entity sets and entity lists?

To learn more about entity sets and entity lists in Arena, refer to the Arena Help system for detailed explanations and examples of the Advanced Transfer panel and its commands. The Arena User's Guide also provides a chapter on advanced modeling techniques, including entity sets and entity lists. Additionally, the Arena Examples folder contains several sample models that demonstrate the use of entity sets and entity lists. For further assistance, join the Arena Online Community platform to ask questions, share ideas, and find solutions with other Arena users.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?