Design Principles
=================

HAMLET is built on a set of core design principles that guide its flexibility, scalability, and usability. These principles shape how the tool is structured and how users can interact with it.

Modularity
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HAMLET follows a modular architecture, allowing users to customize and extend the tool without modifying core functionality. Each component (**Creator, Executor, Analyzer**) operates independently, making it possible to modify or replace functionalities as needed.

Example:
  - Users can define **new agent types** without altering the overall simulation structure.

Agent-Based Modeling
--------------------

Unlike traditional energy system models that rely on centralized optimization, HAMLET adopts an **agent-based approach**. This enables dynamic and decentralized decision-making by individual agents.

Example:
  - Different households may follow unique **energy consumption and trading strategies**, responding to price signals in real time.

Flexibility in Market and Grid Configurations
---------------------------------------------

HAMLET supports a variety of **market structures** and **grid configurations**, making it adaptable to different research and practical applications.

- Market mechanisms such as **local energy markets (LEMs)** and **flexibility markets (LFMs)** can be defined.
- Grid constraints, tariff structures, and trading rules are **configurable** via structured YAML or JSON files.

Example:
  - Users can modify **market clearing algorithms** to study different **auction types**.

Scalability
-----------

HAMLET is designed to handle **small- to mid-scale energy simulations** efficiently. To improve scalability, simulations can leverage **parallel execution** across multiple processes.

Example:
  - Running **100+ agents in parallel** to simulate distributed energy trading.

Transparency & Reproducibility
------------------------------

HAMLET follows **open science principles**, ensuring that all simulations are fully **traceable and reproducible**.

- Configuration files store all **simulation parameters**.
- Outputs are recorded in structured formats, enabling **easy validation and replication**.

Example:
  - Researchers can re-run the same simulation by using the stored **input configurations and results**.

Real-World Applicability
------------------------

HAMLET is designed for **practical use cases**, including **policy analysis, market design, and grid planning**. It is structured to integrate **real-world energy data** and provide insights into **decentralized energy systems**.

Example:
  - Studying the impact of **regulatory policies** on local energy markets by simulating different tariff structures.