Petri net-based object-oriented modelling of distributed systems

Abstract

This paper presents an object-oriented approach for building distributed systems. An example taken from the field of computer integrated manufacturing systems is taken as a guideline. According to this approach a system is built up through three steps: control and synchronization aspects for each class of objects are treated first using PROT nets, which are a high-level extension to Petri nets; then data are introduced specifying the internal states of the objects as well as the messages they send each other; finally the connections between the objects are introduced by means of a data flow diagram between classes. The implementation uses ADA as the target language, exploiting its tasking and structuring mechanisms. The flexibility of the approach and the possibility of using a knowledge-based user interface promote rapid prototyping and reusability.