Hi all,
I am new to simulation world.
I’d like to used hybrid simulation (ABM and System Dynamics) for modeling waste management in an urban area.
Should I use Python for this purpose or utilize the software like Netlogo and Anylogic ?
Welcome, Hans!
I think the answer depends on your circumstances - what languages you are currently comfortable with, what languages and skills you want to learn, and what you hope to gain from your work. If this is research that you’d like to eventually publish in an academic journal, using Python or NetLogo makes it easier for others to use or extend your published code without having to purchase a license for AnyLogic. Although AnyLogic appears to have made its platform more accessible over the years with AnyLogic Cloud and a free version for personal use, it remains proprietary software dependent on the health and leadership of the company developing it.
Python is always a solid choice as it provides access to modeling platforms like Mesa, as well as a wide range of excellent scientific software libraries for GIS, numerical modeling, machine learning, and even system dynamics via pysd
NetLogo is a great tool for non-programmers to learn and become productive with, has great docs and lots of example models around but might get a little harder to coordinate with external tools like Vensim or other libraries from the Python ecosystem for example, but might be useful as a one-stop shop as it also offers abstractions for system dynamics that you could combine with your ABM. NetLogo 6.4.0 User Manual: System Dynamics Guide
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