The SharpHog Southern Pine Beetle Infestation Model is based on the work of entomologists and other scientists and students from numerous universities and colleges, as well as governmental institutions such as the Forest Service, and research by commercial interests. From the original model written in the 1970s at the University of Arkansas using FORTRAN and SAS, the HogModel, as it was dubbed, underwent numerous transformations of the next decades. A recent implementation in java is viewable at Virginia Tech, and an in depth discussion of the state of the model at that point is available as "Evolution of the Southern Pine Beetle Legacy Simulation Model "SPBMODEL" Using Genetic Algorithms", the masters thesis from S.M.Satterlee (see the Virginia Tech JavaHog Website).
Xander Lih is the author of the SharpHog implementation in C# of the Southern Pine Beetle infestation computer model. Additionally, this information and access to the SharpHog model online are being made available at spb.xanderlih.com, a personal website, until an academic or governmental institution takes over the hosting and administration responsibilities for both SharpHog Spb Model and the Spot-Growth Database entomological field data clearing house.
Xander Lih is not an entomologist or forest management specialist or biologist. He's a programmer. Even though he wrote all of this (in this regrettable third-person), it should be noted that he only knows what he's talking about when it comes to the SharpHog computer model.
HogModel history, information related to actual insect or forest biology, real-world applications of the model, statistical validation of model accuracy and equivalency, and all information not directly relating to the actual implementation in C-Sharp and related data-structures should be read with this knowledge in mind.
The SharpHog Model and Spot-Growth Database and their associated methods, data-structures, and user interfaces, are powerful tools ready for knowledgable interested parties to make full use of.
This website is intended to provide information about the new features of the SharpHog model, and in particular the integration of international standards Xml and Xslt into the model and related data, and resulting consequences (benefits).