
Syntax and Semantics of Petri Nets
Roberto Gorrieri(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 25. September 2025
Book
Hardback
282 pages
978-1-009-61328-6 (ISBN)
Description
Petri nets are one of the most popular tools for modeling distributed systems. This book provides a modern look at the theory behind them, by studying three classes of nets that model (i) sequential systems, (ii) non-communicating parallel systems, and (iii) communicating parallel systems. A decidable and causality respecting behavioral equivalence is presented for each class, followed by a modal logic characterization for each equivalence. The author then introduces a suitable process algebra for the corresponding class of nets and proves that the behavioral equivalence proposed for each class is a congruence for the operator of the corresponding process algebra. Finally, an axiomatization of the behavioral congruence is proposed. The theory is introduced step by step, with ordinary-language explanations and examples provided throughout, to remain accessible to readers without specialized training in concurrency theory or formal logic. Exercises with solutions solidify understanding, and the final chapter hints at extensions of the theory.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
563 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-009-61328-6 (9781009613286)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Roberto Gorrieri is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Bologna. His research interests include theory of concurrency and foundations of security. Gorrieri is author of two books 'Introduction to Concurrency Theory' (2015) and 'Process Algebras for Petri Nets' (2017) and editor of ten volumes, mainly about security foundations.
Content
1. Introduction; 2. Sequential systems; 3. Non-communicating parallel systems; 4. Communicating systems; 5. Other equivalences for Petri nets; 6. Conclusion; Appendix. Solutions to selected exercises; Glossary; References; Index.