Concurrent Object-Oriented Programming and Petri Nets

Abstract

The nets-within-nets paradigm provides an innovative modelling technique by giving tokens themselves the structure of a Petri net. These nets, called token nets or object nets, also support the object oriented modelling technique as they may represent real world objects with a proper dynamical behaviour. Between object nets and the surrounding net, called system net, various interaction mechanisms exist as well as between different object nets. This introduction into the field of object Petri nets starts with small examples and proceeds by giving formal semantics. Some of the examples are modelled within the formalism of the Renew tool. Finally the differences between reference and two kinds of value semantics are discussed.