Skip to main content
Log in

Formal semantics of a class of high-level primitives for coordinating concurrent processes

  • Published:
Acta Informatica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

High level programs for generating systems of cooperating concurrent processes are classified according to syntactic criteria. Their semantic characterization by means of Petri Nets, a mathematical theory of system descriptions, induces a corresponding syntactic classification on the latter. This permits the transferal of intuitively important semantical results of Petri Net theory to their corresponding programs. As a consequence it becomes possible to determine a certain kind of semantic correctness of a programm merely by its syntactic classification. Alternate solutions to a well known synchronization problem are treated in this way.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Campbell, R. H., Habermann, A. N.: The Specification of Process Synchronization by Path Expressions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 16, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Dijkstra, E. W.: Co-operating Sequential processes. In: Genuys, F. (ed.): Programming Languages. New York: Academic Press 1968

    Google Scholar 

  3. Hack, M. H. T.: Analysis of Production Schemata by Petri Nets. Masters Thesis, MIT, Feb. 1972

  4. Holt, A. W., Commoner, P.: Events and Conditions. Applied Data Research, New York 1970

  5. Kosaraju, R. S.: Limitations of Dijkstra's Semaphore Primitives and Petri Nets. ACM SIGOPS Oct. 1973, p. 122–126

  6. Lautenbach, K.: Exakte Bedingungen der Lebendigkeit für eine Klasse von Petri-Netzen. Gesellschaft für Mathematik und Daten-Verarbeitung, Bonn, BMFT-GMD-82 1973

  7. Parnas, D. L.: On a Solution to the Cigarette Smokers Problem (without conditional statements). Comm. ACM 18, 181–183

  8. Patil, S. S.: Limitations and Capabilities of Dijkstra's Semaphore Primitives for Co-ordination amongst Processes. MIT, Cambridge (Mass.), Project MAC, Computation Structures Group Memo 57, February 1971

    Google Scholar 

  9. Petri, C. A.: Kommunikation mit Automaten. Technische Hochschule, Darmstadt, Ph.D. Thesis 1962

  10. Schmid, H. A.: An Approach to the Communication and Synchronization of Processes. In Gunther, A. et al. (eds.): International Computing Symposium 1973. Amsterdam: North-Holland 1974

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lauer, P.E., Campbell, R.H. Formal semantics of a class of high-level primitives for coordinating concurrent processes. Acta Informatica 5, 297–332 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00264564

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00264564

Keywords

Navigation