The core of most Forio Epicenter projects is a model, which encapsulates the business logic of the project. It might be a system dynamics model, a Monte Carlo simulation, a linear optimization, a machine learning algorithm, or something else.

You can create your Forio Epicenter models in several common languages:

• Python: a powerful, fast, and flexible general-purpose programming language.
• R: a programming language for statistical computing and data analysis.
• Vensim: a commercial simulation package for developing models.
• Powersim: a commercial simulation package for developing models.
• Stella: a commercial simulation package for developing models.
• Forio SimLang: a specialized simulation language developed at Forio and familiar to users of the previous generation of our platform, Forio Simulate.
• Julia: a high performance technical computing language.

Models of all types integrate automatically with Epicenter’s Interface Builder and complete stack of APIs. You can set parameters, perform calculations, run scenarios, and retrieve results directly from a web browser or mobile client. Model results are automatically saved to a server-side database allowing model interactions to be compared, shared, and archived.

One of the key elements of Epicenter's complete platform and stack is Flow.js, a JavaScript library we developed to complement Epicenter. Flow.js allows you to connect model variables and functions by adding data attributes to DOM elements. This provides a data binding between variables and methods in your project's model and HTML elements in your project's user interface. User input is sent to the model immediately, and model variables displayed in the UI automatically update as the model changes.

<label for="revenue">Revenue</label>
  <input data-f-bind="revenue" type="text">
<label for="cost">Cost</label>
  <input data-f-bind="cost" type="text">
<label>Profit</label><div data-f-bind="profit"></div>
<button data-f-on-click="calculate_profit">Calculate</button>
<button data-f-on-click="reset">Reset</button>
        

Decoupling your model from your user interface in this way is beneficial as a general design principle, and can be especially helpful for larger development teams where the UI developers and the modelers are different people.

If you're using a browser that supports it, you should be able to click and drag the bookmarklet below to your bookmarks or favorites bar.

Another of the key elements of Epicenter's complete platform and stack is Epicenter.js, a JavaScript library we developed to complement Epicenter. This library abstracts the underlying Epicenter REST-based APIs into a set of services and utilities.

If you are comfortable with JavaScript, the Epicenter.js library is an easy way to connect your project's model, data, and user interface. In contrast to Flow.js, which allows you to connect model variables and functions by adding data attributes to DOM elements, Epicenter.js makes it easy to write custom JavaScript while accessing the underlying model through a few simple adapters. Epicenter.js also provides support for features commonly required by multiplayer competitive or collaborative simulations, such as sharing sets of model interactions between end users, and enabling chat or other notifications between end users.

If using the Forio Epicenter platform from our cloud-based hosting is not for you, we can help you run Epicenter specifically for your organization. Forio’s experts in scalable, distributed systems work closely with your IT team throughout the entire lifecycle of your enterprise apps. Enterprise solutions may be hosted by Forio or installed in your local, on premise, environment.

Whether on premise or in the cloud, Epicenter secures your requests and data by using authentication with industry-standard OAuth 2.0 — giving you a fast, secure way of creating and managing your users while you focus on your features.