In: EATCS Monographs on Theoretical Computer Science, pages 1-234. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1992.
Abstract: This book presents a coherent description of the theoretical and practical aspects of Coloured Petri Nets (CP-nets or CPN). It shows how CP-nets have been developed - from being a promising theoretical model to being a full-fledged language for the design, specification, simulation, validation and implementation of large software systems (and other systems in which human beings and/or computers communicate by means of some more or less formal rules). The book contains the formal definition of CP-nets and the mathematical theory behind their analysis methods. However, it has been the intention to write the book in such a way that it also becomes attractive to readers who are more interested in applications than the underlying mathematics. This means that a large part of the book is written in a style which is closer to an engineering textbook (or a users' manual) than it is to a typical textbook in theoretical computer science. The book consists of three separate volumes.
The first volume defines the net model (i.e., hierarchical CP-nets) and the basic concepts (e.g., the different behavioural properties such as deadlocks, fairness and home markings). It gives a detailed presentation of many small examples and a brief overview of some industrial applications. It introduces the formal analysis methods. Finally, it contains a description of a set of CPN tools which support the practical use of CP-nets. Most of the material in this volume is application oriented. The purpose of the volume is to teach the reader how to construct CPN models and how to analyse these by means of simulation.
The second volume contains a detailed presentation of the theory behind the formal analysis methods - in particular occurrence graphs with equivalence classes and place/transition invariants. It also describes how these analysis methods are supported by computer tools. Parts of this volume are rather theoretical while other parts are application oriented. The purpose of the volume is to teach the reader how to use the formal analysis methods. This will not necessarily require a deep understanding of the underlying mathematical theory (although such knowledge will of course be a help).
The third volume contains a detailed description of a selection of industrial applications. The purpose is to document the most important ideas and experiences from the projects - in a way which is useful for readers who do not yet have personal experience with the construction and analysis of large CPN diagrams. Another purpose is to demonstrate the feasibility of using CP-nets and the CPN tools for such projects. Together the three volumes present the theory behind CP-nets, the supporting CPN tools and some of the practical experiences with CP-nets and the tools. In our opinion it is extremely important that these three research areas have been developed simultaneously. The three areas influence each other and none of them could be adequately developed without the other two. As an example, we think it would have been totally impossible to develop the hierarchy concepts of CP-nets without simultaneously having a solid background in the theory of CP-nets, a good idea for a tool to support the hierarchy concepts, and a thorough knowledge of the typical application areas.