In: Valette, R.: Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 815; Application and Theory of Petri Nets 1994, Proceedings 15th International Conference, Zaragoza, Spain, pages 416-435. Springer-Verlag, 1994.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel analysis approach for bounded Petri nets. The net behavior is modeled by boolean functions, thus reducing reasoning about Petri nets to boolean calculation. The state explosion problem is managed by using Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs), which are capab le to represent large sets of markings in small data structures. The ability of Petri nets to model systems, the flexibility and generality of boolean algebras, and the efficient implementation of BDDs, provide a general environment to handle a large variety of problems. Examples are presented that show how all the reachable states (1018) of a Petri net can be efficiently calculated and represented with a small BDD