The Interface

Figure 7 shows Minsky’s interface.

Figure 7: Minsky's Interface

There are 5 main elements to the interface:

2.1 Control menu

• 2.1.1 File : saving models, loading models, exporting them to different formats (PDF, SVG, etc.)
• 2.1.2 Edit : copying, cutting, pasting model components, controlling dimensions and units, modifying model layout automatically
• 2.1.3 Bookmarks : creating and navigating regions of Minsky’s design canvas
• 2.1.4 Insert : inserting model components
• 2.1.4.1 variables, operators, etc
• 2.1.5 Options : system-wide settings
• 2.1.5.1 whether Godley Tables display numeric values, the color of the canvas
• 2.1.6 Simulation : numerical features of Minsky
• 2.1.6.1 time units—seconds, days, years, etc.—and technical details of the numerical solver)
• 2.1.7 Help : Minsky’s online documentation

2.2 Run bar

Icons here control:

The Interface

• 2.2.1 Recalculating a model
• 2.2.2 Recording a model’s construction
• 2.2.3 Replaying its construction
• 2.2.4 Running it in reverse,
• 2.2.5 Running, pausing, stopping and stepping a simulation
• 2.2.6 The speed of simulation
• 2.2.7 The scale of display of the canvas
• 2.2.7.1 zooming out, in, to original scale, and filling the window;

2.3 Tabs

There are tabs for

• 2.3.1 Designing a model (“Wiring”)
• 2.3.2 Seeing the model’s equations
• 2.3.3 Listing its parameters
• 2.3.4 Listing variables that are not defined on the Wiring canvas
• 2.3.5 Showing selected plots
• 2.3.6 Showing Godley Tables
• 2.3.7 Accessing the command line (Terminal)

2.4 Widgets

These icons place Minsky components on the canvas. They are, reading left to right:

The Interface

• 2.4.1 Import multidimensional data (available in Ravel only)
• 2.4.2 Attach data to a Ravel (available in Ravel only)
• 2.4.3 Insert a plot
• 2.4.4 Inserting a spreadsheet
• 2.4.5 Placing a constant, parameter and variable on the canvas and access the Browser window
• 2.4.6 Insert a lock (used in Ravel rather than Minsky)
• 2.4.7 Insert a note
• 2.4.8 Insert the model time
• 2.4.9 Mathematical operators combining two or more entities
• 2.4.9.1 (add, subtract, multiply, etc.);
• 2.4.10 Mathematical operators taking a single input

(sin, cosine, modulus, etc.); 2.4.11 Fundamental constants ( ) and the percent operator 2.4.12 Reduction operators (infimum, etc.) e, π, 0,1∞

• 2.4.10.1 (sin, cosine, modulus, etc.);
• 2.4.12 Reduction operators (infimum, etc.)
• 2.4.13 Aggregation operators (Sum, Product, Difference)
• 2.4.14 Tensor operators (inner product, outer product, etc.)
• 2.4.15 Logical switch operator
• 2.4.16 User defined functions
• 2.4.17 Godley Tables
• 2.4.18 Integral block
• 2.4.19 Differential operator

2.5 Canvases

This is where you design, inspect, and run a model. There is a different canvas for each Tab, with several for display purposes only—the equation, parameters and variables tabs—but others where you have some functionality: plots and Godleys where you can move elements around on screen as a prelude to exporting them for documentation purposes. The functionality of these other tabs will rise as we extend Minsky , but for now the main active canvas is Wiring.

You can enter objects onto the Wiring canvas in two ways:

1. By clicking on the relevant object in the widget bar, and then clicking where you want to place the object placed on the canvas; or
2. By simply typing on the canvas where you’d like the object to appear.

If you start typing text—for example, the string Interest_{Rate}—then a text entry window will pop up, as shown in Figure 8.

The Interface

Figure 8: Creating the parameter InterestRate by typing directly onto the canvas

When you click on OK or press Enter, the “create. Variable” dialog box will pop up, where you can add properties to the variable—including change its type from a Variable to a Parameter (see Figure 9).

Figure 9: The Create Variable dialog box

Once you click OK or press Enter on this form, the entity you’ve created will be attached to your mouse cursor. Move to where you wish to place it on the canvas and click, and it will appear there— see Figure 10.

The Interface

Figure 10: InterestRate now placed on the canvas

Minsky also allows you to enter common mathematical operators on the canvas directly by simply typing their key. Figure 11 summarizes the main direct entry operators.

Figure 11: The main direct entry operators

The only two with some complexity are the minus key and the percentage key. Since some users – may want to name a variable with a preceding minus sign (or percentage sign), if you type , the variable entry dialog box comes up. If you just want the minus operator, press Enter (or click on OK) and it will appear. If the minus is actually part of a name, keep typing and that variable will be created.

The Interface