Reconfigurable Nets, a Class of High Level Petri Nets Supporting Dynamic Changes


Author

Eric Badouel, Javier Oliver

Abstract

We introduce a class of high level Petri nets, called reconfigurable nets, that can dynamically modify their own structure by rewriting some of their components. Boundedness of a reconfigurable net can be decided by constructing its coverability tree. Moreover such a net can be simulated by a self-modifying Petri net. The class of reconfigurable nets thus provide a subclass of self-modifying Petri nets for which boundedness can be decided. Delayed dynamic changes within workflow systems in the sense of can then be handled in an extension of van der Aalst's workflow nets. For this class (the {\em reconfigurable workflow nets}), a notion of soundness has been defined that can also be verified using the coverability tree construction.

Keywords

Reconfigurable Nets, Workflow Systems, Boundedness, Self-Modifying Petri Nets.