What is NetLogo?

NetLogo is a programmable modeling environment for simulating natural and social phenomena. It is particularly well suited for modeling complex systems developing over time. Modelers can give instructions to hundreds or thousands of independent "agents" all operating concurrently. This makes it possible to explore the connection between the micro-level behavior of individuals and the macro-level patterns that emerge from the interaction of many individuals.

NetLogo lets students open simulations and "play" with them, exploring their behavior under various conditions. It is also an authoring environment which enables students, teachers and curriculum developers to create their own models. NetLogo is simple enough that students and teachers can easily run simulations or even build their own. And, it is advanced enough to serve as a powerful tool for researchers in many fields.

NetLogo has extensive documentation and tutorials. It also comes with a Models Library, which is a large collection of pre-written simulations that can be used and modified. These simulations address many content areas in the natural and social sciences, including biology and medicine, physics and chemistry, mathematics and computer science, and economics and social psychology. Several model-based inquiry curricula using NetLogo are currently under development.

NetLogo can also power a classroom participatory-simulation tool called HubNet. Through the use of networked computers or handheld devices such as Texas Instruments (TI-83+) calculators, each student can control an agent in a simulation. Follow this link for more information.

NetLogo is the next generation of the series of multi-agent modeling languages that started with StarLogo. It builds off the functionality of our product StarLogoT and adds significant new features and a redesigned language and user interface. NetLogo is written in Java so it can run on all major platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux, et al). It is run as a standalone application. Individual models can be run as Java applets inside a web browser.

Features

You can use the list below to help familiarize yourself with the features NetLogo has to offer.

• System:
  • Cross-platform: runs on MacOS, Windows, Linux, et al
  • Models can be saved as applets to be embedded in web pages
• Language:
  • Fully programmable
  • Simple language structure
  • Language is Logo dialect extended to support agents and concurrency
  • Unlimited numbers of agents and variables
  • Many built-in primitives
  • Integer and double precision floating point math
  • Runs are exactly reproducible cross-platform
• Environment:
  • Graphics display supports turtle shapes and sizes, exact turtle positions, and turtle and patch labels
  • Interface builder w/ buttons, sliders, switches, choices, monitors, text boxes
  • "Control strip" including speed slider
  • Powerful and flexible plotting system
  • Info area for annotating your model
  • HubNet: participatory simulations using networked devices
  • Agent monitors for inspecting and controlling agents
  • BehaviorSpace tool used to collect data from multiple runs of a model
  • Export and import functions (export data, save and restore state of model)