University of Birmingham
3pm Tuesday, 28th of April, 2009
Room 4.31/4.33, Informatics Forum
The wire calculus is a process algebra for modelling truly concurrent systems with explicit network topologies. It benefits from applying a categorical approach to the coordination of processes: tensor product and sequential composition of monoidal categories. The dynamics are handled by operators inspired by Milner's CCS and Hoare's CSP: unary prefix operation, binary choice and a standard recursion construct. The operational semantics consists of labelled transition systems derived using SOS rules.
Features of the wire calculus include the following: (i) it a truly concurrent formalism (non-interleaving); (ii) it can model systems that combine different communication paradigms (e.g. synchrony and asynchrony) (iii) there is only one kind of bisimulation equivalence and it is a congruence; (iv) the coordination aspects admit a formal graphical notation.