Deriving a Graph Rewriting System from a Complete Finite Prefix of an Unfolding

The starting point of this paper is McMillan’s complete finite prefix of an unfolding that has been obtained from a Petri net or a process algebra expression. The paper addresses the question of how to obtain the (possibly infinite) system behaviour from the complete finite prefix. An algorithm is presented to derive from the prefix a graph rewriting system that can be used to construct the unfolding. It is shown how to generate event sequences from the graph rewriting system which is important for constructing an interactive simulator. Finally it is indicated how the graph rewriting system yields a transition system that can be used for model checking and test derivation.