The Laboratory Prototype can be either a FullFunctionalSimulator or at a higher fidelity level it can be a FullyStimulatedEndToEndPrototype or any slice in between.  The point is that now we have a system in which the computer layer simply can't tell whether it is talking to the real world or not.  All the functionality and the data structures in the computer are talking to stuff that looks real.  At this level you can fully test the software in the comfort of the laboratory except in those few isolated aspects where the rubber doesn't quite meet the road -- the fidelity breaks so to speak.  --RaySchneider

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CategoryTesting