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On the action semantics of concurrent programming languages

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Book cover Semantics: Foundations and Applications (REX 1992)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 666))

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Abstract

Action semantics is a framework for semantic description of programming languages. In this framework, actions are semantic entities, used to represent the potential behaviour of programs—also the contributions that parts of programs make to such behaviour. The notation for expressing actions, called action notation, is combinator-based. It is used in much the same way that lambda-notation is used in denotational semantics. However, the essence of action notation is operational, rather than mathematical, and its meaning is formally defined by a structural operational semantics together with a bisimulation equivalence.

This paper briefly motivates action semantics, and explains the basic concepts. It then illustrates the use of the framework by giving an action semantic description of a small example language. This language includes a simple form of concurrency: tasks that may synchronize by means of rendezvous. The paper also discusses the operational semantics of action notation, focusing on the primitive actions that represent asynchronous message transmission and process initiation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science Department, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade Bldg. 540, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Peter D. Mosses

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  1. Peter D. Mosses
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J. W. de Bakker W. -P. de Roever G. Rozenberg

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Mosses, P.D. (1993). On the action semantics of concurrent programming languages. In: de Bakker, J.W., de Roever, W.P., Rozenberg, G. (eds) Semantics: Foundations and Applications. REX 1992. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 666. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-56596-5_42

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-56596-5_42

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-56596-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47595-8

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