Is there a concurrency simulation / simulation tool?

Question

Is there a good tool that can simulate a concurrency application / lock scheme in a graphical way and that can mimic some aspects?

I know that Petri networks can be used more or less for this, but I don’t know a good GUI tool that can design and model.

Can UML be used for such purposes?

Any good links are greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

UML activity diagrams can be expressed in Petri nets (for example, see this article ). Unfortunately, I don’t know any good industrial oriented tools for modeling Petri nets or activity diagrams (but there are many academic projects that you can easily find).

Are you sure you want to simulate your model (by modeling, I mean that you really want to sit and watch how your Perti network works)? Typically, this type of analysis is applicable to small and simple algorithms. In a real situation, you probably would like to do a model check of your algorithm, not a simulation. I would recommend you check the SPIN (used by many companies, for example, Siemens). I also have positive experience with Alloy and Prism . But if you are focused on checking parallel algorithms, I would suggest you consider SPIN first.

Edit: I checked some modeling tools, and I can advise a look

1) http://sourceforge.net/projects/visual-petri/

2) http://www.renew.de/

3) http://www.winpesim.de/index.html

Answer 2

SPIN is a popular tool for checking distributed systems, but I believe this is just a command line. But the Spin webpage has a link to a closely related GUI tool called GOAL

Answer 3

I doubt that this is what you are looking for, but I will throw my two cents:

At my university, in our class on parallel software systems, we use the Labeled Transition System Analyzer (LTSA) tool . This is actually a language that can be used to model system behavior.

The "code" turns into a state diagram and transition table.

Answer 4

Here is an interactive Java applet that can design and run a Petri network.

Answer 5

It has been a long time since I looked at it, but it looks like Ptolemy will fit in well.

Answer 6

You can check Petri Net Sim to simulate regular / temporary / color Petrinets, it comes with a nice graphical interface that displays Petri Net's performance in real time.

Answer 7

Try using the concurrency tool, LTSA. Java program. (Labeled Transition System Analyzer) to simulate programs. You can download it from:

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/ltsa/

But you have to be patient when using it, it may take several hours to learn how to use it. Probably works best when modeling Java programs.

And it’s always useful to use UML models, of course :)