Modelling Concurrency with Comtraces and Generalized Comtraces

TL;DR

This paper introduces generalized comtraces, extending comtraces to model additional concurrency relationships, and establishes their algebraic properties and correspondence with stratified order structures.

Contribution

It presents the novel concept of generalized comtraces and proves their representation via generalized stratified order structures.

Findings

Generalized comtraces can model 'not later than' and 'non-simultaneously' relationships.

Algebraic properties of generalized comtraces are characterized.

Generalized comtraces are shown to correspond with generalized stratified order structures.

Abstract

Comtraces (combined traces) are extensions of Mazurkiewicz traces that can model the "not later than" relationship. In this paper, we first introduce the novel notion of generalized comtraces, extensions of comtraces that can additionally model the "non-simultaneously" relationship. Then we study some basic algebraic properties and canonical reprentations of comtraces and generalized comtraces. Finally we analyze the relationship between generalized comtraces and generalized stratified order structures. The major technical contribution of this paper is a proof showing that generalized comtraces can be represented by generalized stratified order structures.