CPN Tools

Overview

Entry last updated: 2006/4/25
Entry last validated: 2006/4/25

Tool homepage: http://www.daimi.au.dk/CPNTools/

Tool availability: Free of charge

Tool Features

Petri Nets Supported (see also help on terminology)

High-level Petri Nets
Petri Nets with Time

Components (see also help on terminology)

Graphical Editor
Token Game Animation
Fast Simulation
State Spaces
Simple Performance Analysis
Interchange File Format

Environments

PC, Linux
PC, MS Windows 2000
PC, MS Windows XP

Tool Description

CPN Tools is a widespread tool for editing, simulating and analysing Coloured Petri Nets. The GUI of CPN Tools was designed in cooperation with leading HCI experts and is based on advanced interaction techniques. Feedback facilities provide contextual error messages and indicate dependency relationships between net elements. The tool features incremental syntax checking and code generation which take place while a net is being constructed. A fast simulator efficiently handles both untimed and timed nets. Full and partial state spaces can be generated and analysed, and a standard state space report contains information such as boundedness properties and liveness properties. By means of a simple query language it is possible to specify and check system-specific properties. The tool also provides support for simulation-based performance analysis.

CPN Tools has replaced the Design/CPN tool. Models can be transferred from Design/CPN to CPN Tools by means of an XML-based text format. The format resembles the upcoming standardized exchange format for (high-level) Petri Nets, and when the standard reaches a more stable state, support for this exchange format is planned.

Contact Information

Kurt Jensen
Department of Computer Science
University of Aarhus
IT-parken, Aabogade 34
DK-8200 Aarhus N
Denmark

Phone:  +45 8942 5612
Fax:    +45 8942 5601
E-mail: CPNTools-support@daimi.au.dk

Other Remarks

The development of CPN Tools started in 1999 and will continue over the next years. A total effort of approximately five man-years per year are invested in the tool.

The development has been supported by the Danish National Centre for IT-Research, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia Research Center, Microsoft Research Limited, and George Mason University.

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