Identifying Commonalities and Differences in Object Life Cycles using Behavioral Inheritance

Key words: Petri nets -- inheritance -- lattices -- partial orders -- object-oriented methods -- workflow management

The behavioral-inheritance relations of [1,2] can be used to compare the life cycles of objects defined in terms of Petri nets. They yield partial orders on object life cycles (OLCs). Based on these orders, we define concepts such as the greatest common divisor and the least common multiple of a set of OLCs. These concepts have practical relevance: In component-based design, workflow management, ERP reference models, and electronic-trade procedures, there is a constant need for identifying commonalities and differences in OLCs. Our results provide the theoretical basis for comparing, customizing, and unifying OLCs.

1. T. Basten. In Terms of Nets: System Design with Petri Nets and Process Algebra. PhD thesis. Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Mathematics and Computing Science, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, December 1998, 248 pages. (short abstract (approx. 250 words) / summary (approx. 6000 words) / postscript (630 kb) / pdf (1.3 Mb))

2. T. Basten and W.M.P. van der Aalst. Inheritance of Behavior. Journal of Logic and Algebraic Programming, 47(2):47-145, March/April 2001. (abstract / postscript / pdf) © Elsevier Science.

(postscript / pdf version of the complete paper)

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