Patent ID: 8036873

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of simulating a system of devices, said method comprising: executing a system model comprising a plurality of software modules including a first module representing a first device of said devices and a second module representing a second device of said devices, wherein a first software clock object is associated with said first module and a second software clock object is associated with said second module and wherein said second software clock object advances fewer clock cycles per unit of time during a simulation relative to said first software clock object, said simulation performed using said system model; during said simulation, monitoring said first module to determine if said first module is active and monitoring said second module to determine if said second module is active; and during said simulation, using said second software clock object to drive both said first and second modules when both said first and second modules are active, using said second software clock object to drive said second module when said second module is active but said first module is inactive, and disabling said second software clock object and using said first software clock object to drive said first module when said first module is active but said second module is inactive.