In: Proc. of the 1994 IEEE Symposium on Emerging Technologies & Factory Automation: ETFA'94, Tokyo, Japan, pages 420-427. November 1994.
Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of application Petri nets to real-world parallel and distributed systems of industrial size. It is pointed out that in many cases a well-known hierarchy/refinement technique technique does not work perfectly. We suggest another solution based on an algebraic approach to Petri net representation. Two levels of compositionality are introduced. The first one, algebraic level offers to a designer a set of net operations which allow to build complex Petri nets from simpler ones. These are: operations of sequential and parallel composition, choice, iteration, and disruption defined on the top of two auxiliary operations of synchronization. The second architectural level allows users to manipulate with Petri net entities, where the entity is defined to be a Petri net equipped with access points. Operations of entity composition through the access points are introduced. The suggested technique is demonstrated in a three-level Petri net editor comprising basic, algebraic and architectural editors.