There are lots of programming languages out there, but very few like Modelica. Modelica is a standardized language for describing the behavior of physical and cyber-physical systems. It incorporates mathematical constructs and physical interactions directly into the language and it can be used to create graphical, component-oriented models of complex physical systems. Unbeknownst to most software developers, Modelica is used by a wide range of big name industrial companies (e.g., Ford, United Technologies, BMW, Airbus) to simulate a host of real world devices and systems.

This talk will cover how the mathematical and physical information described in Modelica is transformed into a running simulation of that physical system. There are a number of fascinating algorithms that are needed to transform the hybrid differential-algebraic equations extracted from a Modelica model into imperative simulation code. The compilation is completely different from a typical programming language. Attendees may recognize some similarities to functional reactive programming (FRP) but extended to include continuous behavior.