Extensions of Configuration Structures

TL;DR

This paper introduces ST-structures and STC-structures to bridge state-based and event-based concurrency models, analyzing their expressive power and relationships to higher dimensional automata and event structures.

Contribution

It defines new concurrency models (ST-structures and STC-structures) and explores their relationships and expressive capabilities compared to existing models.

Findings

ST-structures relate higher dimensional automata to configuration structures.

Standard concurrency notions are adapted for ST(C)-structures.

Comparative analysis enhances understanding of state-event duality.

Abstract

The present paper defines ST-structures (and an extension of these, called STC-structures). The main purpose is to provide concrete relationships between highly expressive concurrency models coming from two different schools of thought: the higher dimensional automata, a \textit{state-based} approach of Pratt and van Glabbeek; and the configuration structures and (in)pure event structures, an \textit{event-based} approach of van Glabbeek and Plotkin. In this respect we make comparative studies of the expressive power of ST-structures relative to the above models. Moreover, standard notions from other concurrency models are defined for ST(C)-structures, like steps and paths, bisimilarities, and action refinement, and related results are given. These investigations of ST(C)-structures are intended to provide a better understanding of the \textit{state-event duality} described by Pratt, and also of the (a)cyclic structures of higher dimensional automata.