ABSTRACT
Carl A. Petri invented a net-theoretical approach to model and analyze communication systems in his dissertation in 1962. Since then, Petri nets have been proven to be a very useful approach for modeling, control, simulation, and performance analysis of discrete-event systems. This chapter introduces Petri net basics and Petri net-based modeling techniques. Decidability is an attractive feature of a finite-state automaton model. The chapter provides Petri net model synthesis techniques that lead to modeling modules and procedures. Like state automata, a Petri net is a “device” which manipulates events according to certain rules. Behavioral properties of a Petri net are dependent on the initial marking, and structural properties of a Petri net are independent of the initial marking. The techniques of reachability and coverability form the basis of the graph-based methods for analyzing Petri net properties.
