Enhancing the flexibility of algebraic deadlock avoidance policies through Petri net structural analysis

Abstract

Deadlock avoidance in sequential resource allocation systems is a well-defined problem in discrete event system literature, as it underlies the operation of many contemporary technological systems. In the past, the problem has been studied by means of a number of formal frameworks, including the finite state automata (FSA) and Petri nets (PN). In this paper, it is shown that a significant class of deadlock avoidance policies (DAP), known as algebraic PK-DAP, originally developed in the FSA paradigm, can be analyzed using recent results from PN structural analysis. Furthermore, the approach to DAP analysis and design taken in this paper has led to the effective generalization of the currently available algebraic PK-DAP, and to their enrichment with new and more flexible policy implementations.