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Process Algebras

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Parallel Computing

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Synonyms

Process calculi; Process description languages

Definition

Process Algebras are mathematically rigorous languages with well-defined semantics that permit describing and verifying properties of concurrent communicating systems. They can be seen as models of processes, regarded as agents that act and interact continuously with other similar agents and with their common environment. The agents may be real-world objects (even people), or they may be artifacts, embodied perhaps in computer hardware or software systems. Many different approaches (operational, denotational, algebraic) are taken for describing the meaning of processes. However, the operational approach is the reference one. By relying on the so-called Structural Operational Semantics (SOS), labeled transition systems are built and composed by using the different operators of the many different process algebras. Behavioral equivalences are used to abstract from unwanted details and identify those systems that react...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dip. Sistemi e Informatica, Universita’ di Firenze, Viale Morgagni, 65, 50134, Firenze, Italy

    Rocco De Nicola (Dr.)

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  1. Rocco De Nicola
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    David Padua

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De Nicola, R. (2011). Process Algebras. In: Padua, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parallel Computing. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09766-4_450

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