ABSTRACT
The key to any simulation program is the GENERATE Block. This Block creates transactions that move through the program from Block to Block. These transactions can represent anything that you wish to model, such as ships entering a harbour, trucks in a mine, ore on a conveyor belt, cars on a highway, and people entering a bank. To give an idea of how a transaction is used, think of a truck arriving at a shovel where it is to be loaded with ore. The truck is the transaction. It will arrive at the shovel and then, once the shovel is free, it will spot and wait while the shovel loads it. The sequence might be as follows:
1. The shovel is free, so the truck spots and the loading begins. 2. The shovel is busy, so the truck waits until it is free. 3. Once loaded, the truck leaves the shovel, and another truck can commence loading.
