An operational semantics for DFM, a formal notation for modelling asynchronous Web services coordination

Abstract

This paper presents the DFM notation and its operational semantics. DFM (document flow model) is a message-based workflow notation for modelling asynchronous Web services communication, which uses coordination mechanisms to support dynamic configurations and long-running business processes. The operational semantics of a DFM specification describes the possible behaviours of a system of interrelated Web services, in terms of the messages that can be exchanged during the execution of one or more business processes, and the effect each message execution has on the business process state.