A petri net formalization of a publish-subscribe process system.

Abstract

Publish/subscribe systems are getting more and more integrated into the execution of business processes in process aware information systems. This integration enables the distribution of the process logic and increases the scalability and adaptability of the process enactment infrastructure. A consequence is however that the original specified process model doesn't accurately represent the actual running process anymore, as the publish/subscribe specific operations are not incorporated into the original model. In this paper we propose a formal model of a publish/subscribe system that can be integrated into a business process model, creating in this way an accurate representation of the actual runtime process. The resulting model can be used for model checking the executable process: inspect system properties, discover problems and validate changes.