CMDR includes reusable Java libraries that interface application code with the RTI. The Application Programming Interface (API) allows developers to rapidly build HLA-compliant software by providing a suite of convenient, easily understood abstractions. Application code reuse can be achieved through direct calls to the CMDR API.

Local Object Synchronization:

CMDR automatically translates raw RTI messages into application-level objects. Any changes to federation objects are immediately pushed into the application domain. Changes that are made within the application are automatically coded as RTI messages and sent to the federation.

Message Filtering:

Sometimes RTI object attributes are updated with their same value. An example of this is the heartbeat used in many simulation federations. Attribute updates are used to indicate an object still exists. These updates typically appear as a complete update of the object attributes. CMDR can be used to improve performance by filtering updates that do not actually change a value. This can significantly reduce unnecessary network traffic and processing in your simulation data consumers.

Federation Gateway Agent:

CMDR maintains an internal database of remotely simulated objects and their current state. The RTI does not have such a database, forcing each federate to query objects individually, creating network traffic and loading the entire federation with data synchronization processing. Caching federation data allows applications to query CMDR for the state of federation data objects. CMDR assures the current state of each remote object is returned immediately.

CMDR provides a number of reusable, high level, application services:

• Maintains an internal database of remotely simulated objects and their current states. The RTI does not maintain a database. It is simply a communications mechanism among federates. Caching the data in CMDR permits applications to query CMDR to obtain the current state of each remote object, ignoring the details of which attributes have been updated when.
   
• Managing the transmission of attribute updates for locally simulated objects to other federates. The RTI does not keep the current state of the locally simulated objects either, so it can know when attribute values are out of date.
   
• Converting between raw data formats and actual objects. The RTI transmits object attributes and interactions parameters as arrays of raw data. An important feature of CMDR is automatic translation of raw RTI data into objects and back again for all FOM data types.