ContactCenters: Documentation

The official documentation of ContactCenters is composed of several PDF files. For convenience, we also provide the API specification in HTML format. These documents are included in the download of ContactCenters, or can be viewed on-line by using the following links.

Adobe Reader is the standard product for viewing and printing PDF documentation. It can be downloaded for free at Adobe's Web site: . However, any PDF reader such as FoxIt Reader, Evince, etc., can be used to view the documentation.

Generic simulator for multi-skill and blend call centers

This simulator can be used without Java programming, and is thus recommended for people beginning with ContactCenters.

On-line guide for the generic simulator

This document contains commented examples of configuration files, instructions to run simulations from the command-line, and use the simulator internally in Java code, and documentation about supported arrival processes, dialing and routing policies, and types of performance measures.

Sample XML files for the simulator

These examples, commented in the above manual, can be used to experiment with the generic simulator.

HTML documentation for the XML Schemas used by the generic simulator

This document describes how parameter files for the simulator are organized, and provides documentation for each parameter.

API specifications

These documents are needed for people extending the provided generic simulator, or using ContactCenters directly to create new simulators. This specification is provided in PDF and HTML format. The PDF version is more detailed and more complete than the HTML version, and thus the official documentation. Each PDF document starts with an overview providing information about the general structure of the document. A detailed description of classes and methods then follows.

HTML documentation

ContactCenters documentation in HTML format

It was translated from LaTeX to HTML by an automatic translator and, as a consequence, the mathematical formulas are not always translated correctly. However, the PDF documentation is translated correctly from the LaTeX documents.

PDF documentation

API specification for the generic simulator

This provides information about the architecture of the simulator as well as detailed documentation on its classes and methods.

DTMC simulator API specification

Provides documentation about the architecture, classes, and methods of the quick simulator using a uniformized continuous-time Markov chain model.

API Specification for the interfaces to interact with simulators of contact centers

These interfaces are implemented by generic simulators to provide a standardized way to start the simulation, change some parameters, and obtain statistics. This document also describes the facilities for generating reports from the simulation results.

Core API Specification

This document describes the core classes representing contacts, arrival processes, routers, agent groups, etc. .

SSJ Extensions API Specification

Provides documentation for utility classes for managing arrays, helping in reading XML parameter files, etc.

Examples of simulators

We also provide some simple examples using the core classes of ContactCenters directly. These examples might be useful to learn about the architecture of the library, and to create simulators using the core classes directly.

On-line guide for the examples

This document provides commented examples of simple simulators using the library directly.

Source code for the commented examples.

External libraries

SSJ

A Java library for stochastic simulation. This library provides tools to generate random numbers from various probability distributions, perform discrete-event simulations, collect statistics, etc. It is used extensively by ContactCenters.

Colt

Provides Java classes for scientific computation, including linear algebra and statistics. ContactCenters uses the matrix support provided by this library.

JExcelAPI

Library used to import and export results from and to Microsoft Excel workbooks.

Linear_Algebra library

This library is a translation to Java of the public domain LINPACK routines. It is used for parameter estimation only.

Optimization package of Steve Verrill

Includes Java translations of the MINPACK routines for nonlinear least squares problems as well as UNCMIN routines for unconstrained optimization. These are used for parameter estimation only.

JFreeChart

This library is used to draw histograms and different kinds of plots. It is included in the distribution as jfreechart-1.0.10.jar and jcommon-1.0.13.jar files.

Licences

The SSJ library is released under the GNU GPL licence.

The JFreeChart library is released under the GNU LGPL License.

The Linear_Algebra and Optimization packages are public domain.

The Colt library is released under the following license agreement, copied from the Colt web site: