Within the research work in the non-linear dynamics group, the software package AnT (Version 4.669) was developed and implemented. It is a gerneric simulation and Analysis Tool for dynamical systems. This software package can be applied in several scientific disciplines in both research and education areas. Hence, the target group may be scientists and engineers as well as lecturers, teachers and students.

The kernel of the package allows the simulation and analysis of a broad spectrum of dynamical systems. According to our project, the term of a dynamical system was kept very general. Hence, with the implemented investigation methods we are able to analyze not only time-discrete maps, recurrent time-discrete maps, ordinary, time-delay and functional differential equations, but also stochastical systems, hybrid systems and even external input data, which will be interpreted as a time series. The simulation tool allows the investigation of dynamical systems in single-run mode or scan-mode, which can be one- or high-dimensional. During such a scan, not only the parameters of the investigated dynamical system can be varied, but also the initial values as well as specific parameters of the applied investigation methods. Hence, using the AnT 4.669 software package, one can investigate bifurcation scenarios, determine the basins of attraction e.g. in the case of coexisting attractors and even find optimal parameter settings for some specific investigation methods.

Many investigation methods are implemented, such as general trajectory evaluations, basic statistics, period and region analysis, spectral analysis, principal component decomposition, symbolic sequence evaluation, calculation of Lyapunov exponents and generalized Poincaré sections. Furthermore the box-counting based calculation of the invariant measure, the entropy and several fractal dimensions as well as the symbolic image based calculation of the morse spectrum, invariant sets and basins of attraction are available.

To simplify the input of simulation parameters as well as other user interactions, the simulation package provides a graphical user interface, based on the GTK+ toolkit. Another important feature is the possibility of automatically distributing scan-runs among many machines, thus executing the simulations in parallel. Therefore a client/server architecture is used.

The simulation package posesses an open architecture and can be easily extended by further modules. We have already provided the possibility to link against the external (open source) libraries listed here. Many features are based on proved software concepts, combining the advantages of procedural and object-oriented programming techniques.

Each investigation method stores its results in corresponding data files, which can be visualized and evaluated by the user after the simulation has completed. Furthermore, 2D and 3D online-visualization routines are implemented, which can be used during single-run simulations. The provided integration methods for ordinary, delayed and even functional differential equations and the online-visualization make the simulation package interesting not only for scientists but also for professors and teachers.