The Process Theoretical Approach to Qualitative DEVS

Qualitative extensions to the Discrete EVent Systems (devs) formalism are presented based on some new ideas relating general process and automata theory and General Information Theory (git). Specifically, we will consider the applicability of possibilistic and fuzzy processes and automata to the devs methodology. Much of the devs formalism can be cast into classical finite automata theoretical terms. Classical automata generalize to qualitative temporal processes with input and output where states are valued on a lattice and the state transition function is implemented by algebraic semiring operators. Special cases include classical deterministic, nondeterministic, and stochastic (Markov) processes, and the newer fuzzy and possibilistic processes. In this way devs can be extended qualitatively in terms of general Moore automata. 1 Introduction The Discrete EVent Systems (devs) methodology [30] has emerged in recent years as an important modeling and simulation formalism. devs is an a..