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This page was updated on 3rd May 2026.

Numerical Simulation is often termed numerical modeling. Computer programming has been a method of assembling mathematical equations into algorithms that simulate situations in the real world. Their growth has been the product of research departments at universities or large institutions.

In the case of Beach Studies, in fact most oceanographic, fluvial or meteorological systems, simulations are related to time. These are dynamic systems and the time step between each re-calculation is selected with the data inputs. In the case of beach profile research the time step needs to be shorter than the wave period.

Numerical simulation using computers has been ongoing for well over seventy years. Astronomical predictions were the first subjects of algorithmic calculation. Tidal predictions followed soon after. Early practioners used slide rules, log tables, pen and paper. Charles Babbage (of Totnes, Devon) and Ada Lovelace (of Porlock, Somerset) were the early inventors of mechanical computers and numerical programming, respectively. Alan Turing (Bletchley Park, 1940s) developed these early technologies into electronic computing. Through the 1940s and 1950s Britain's early developments were copied, expanded and monetised by the U.S.A.

Computer software flourished in the second half of the 20th Century. The rapid rise of desktop and laptop computers resulted in lowering of hardware prices and increases in processor clock speed and memory capacity. Today the marketing onslaught is focused strongly on software licensing. In the 1970s software was largely free and "readable" by the huge numbers of computing enthusiasts worldwide. Since then the large software companies have gone out of their way to inhibit copying and sharing. Businesses and governments are paying large sums of money at regular intervals for latest versions of software. Source code is unavailable. In contrast, away from the U.S.A., there is a slow resurgence of the 1970s culture of sharing and collaborating. Source code is available and software is being enhanced by interested community groups.

In the world of science, most software is still being developed in universities and research institutions. Monetisers are always looking for ways of exploiting innovations by scientists and this is noticeable in the construction and engineering fields.

The screen output of commercial simulation software is often "crisp" and convincing to the uninformed. At research and development level simulations may not have elaborate computer graphics. Developers and immediate users prefer to have access to the numerics. However, commercial versions of all manner of simulations can be eaasily fronted by simple screen graphics. Abilities to enter data, upon which the simulation is based, are not that versatile. These types of commercial simulation software are purchased by construction and engineering companies to convince their clients of the amazing representation of the real environments that they are endeavouring to modify.

Beware. The glossier and crisper the screen graphics the more likely the software is to be less than reality. Customers, councillors, MPs, public servants in government departments are given phrases like "state of the art technology". Perhaps they prefer to nod in agreement rather than ask searching questions. Remember the song by Danny Kaye (1952) - "The King's New Clothes".

Decision makers, particularly those allocating tax-payers money, are frequently misled. For the last few years MPs in Parliament have been responding to the assertions of Artificial Imtelligence (AI) protagonists. From the MP's utterances it seems they have little understanding of computing technologies but they have been persuaded to adopt the marketing phrases of the AI marketeers.

If you are a decision maker for public money, you could always ask questions like:
  Did you write the software for this simulation?
  From where did you buy it?
  How much did you pay for it?
  Was the payment a once only, or will you be paying a monthly or annual licence fee?
  Who are the authors/compilers of this simulation?
  Do you have the source code for this simulation?
  In what programming language is the simulation written?
  Can we have copies of the source code?
  Can we have copies of the software to run on our own computers in order to evaluate it?
  Have you used this software on any previous projects?

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