Some New Directions for ACP Research

TL;DR

This paper proposes new research directions for the Algebra of Communicating Processes (ACP), inspired by SubScript, an extension of Scala, highlighting potential theoretical and practical advancements in process algebra and programming languages.

Contribution

It introduces novel ideas inspired by SubScript that extend ACP's applicability beyond processes and emphasizes the need for formal treatment of these concepts.

Findings

ACP theory may apply to structures beyond processes

SubScript introduces innovative ideas building on ACP

The paper encourages formal development of new ACP concepts

Abstract

This paper lists some new directions for research related to the Algebra of Communicating Processes (ACP). Most of these directions have been inspired by work on SubScript, an ACP based extension to the programming language Scala. SubScript applies several new ideas that build on ACP, but currently these lack formal treatment. Some of these new ideas are rather fundamental. E.g. it appears that the theory of ACP may well apply to structures of any kind of items, rather than to just processes. The aim of this list is to raise awareness of the research community about these new ideas; this could help both the research area and the programming language SubScript.