A reference model for modular colored Petri nets

The object paradigm offers a fundamental modeling framework for the interaction of loosely coupled, distributed and concurrent executing components. Ideally, its combination with concurrent formal models should provide user friendliness and reusability of designs, ensuring their correctness, robustness or efficiency evaluation. This paper presents an approach combining objects and colored Petri nets paradigms, drawing it inspiration from hierarchical nets. It aims to allow a concrete delimitation of objects behaviors in the operational model, to respect the information encapsulation. For the purpose, we introduce a model of modular nets that maintains object structuring over behaviors and helps to ensure specification traceability