Specification of distributed systems with actors using object-oriented Petri nets

Abstract

Two methodologies and technologies are integrated in this paper: distributed object-oriented programming and visual programming with object-oriented Petri nets (OOPNs). Distributed object-oriented systems are represented by means of active objects, called actors. A formal specification of actors is achieved by means of OOPNs, which are based on colored Petri nets enriched by the object-oriented paradigm. We combine these methods into a single methodology for the formal specification of distributed systems with actors by means of OOPNs. OOPNs are based on viewing objects as active servers that offer re-entrant services to other objects. A class consists of an object net, describing the internal activity, and several method nets, describing the services the class provides to other classes.