gPROMS

What do you like best?

gPROMS provides unmatched for power and speed, when it comes to modelling and simulation of complex dynamic systems. Part of this strength comes from the implementation of the equation solvers, that are capable of solving even PDEs in a fast and reliable fashion, a feature that even established programming languages such as MATLAB or Python struggle with. Optimization is also uncomplicated and easy-to-implement.

The solid object oriented programming style and use of modules makes creating DRY code easier.

What do you dislike?

The error analysis tool is very unforgiving, as it keeps shouting for the smallest mistakes (e.g. fixing an extra variable in an algebraic equation system can lead to 80 unrelated error messages) which can result in painful headaches.

The user interface (GUI) is quite basic and has a lot of room for improvements, especially given the fact that occasionally the coding syntax can be unintuitive.

Also the user support system is quite ineffective. The coding style in itself is hard to follow, especially without any official or extensive user manual or educational videos published, which is topped by a small user community. Therefore, when facing a challenge it is almost impossible to get help.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

The high speed in solving complex systems and optimization problems is second to none. I used it for a course on dynamic systems simulation.