The Pi-Calculus
A Theory of Mobile Processes

Graduate text on the p-calculus, a mathematical model of mobile computing systems.

Davide Sangiorgi (Author), David Walker (Author)

9780521543279, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 October 2003

596 pages
24.6 x 18.9 x 3.1 cm, 1.067 kg

Mobile systems, whose components communicate and change their structure, now pervade the informational world and the wider world of which it is a part. The science of mobile systems is as yet immature, however. This book presents the pi-calculus, a theory of mobile systems. The pi-calculus provides a conceptual framework for understanding mobility, and mathematical tools for expressing systems and reasoning about their behaviours. The book serves both as a reference for the theory and as an extended demonstration of how to use pi-calculus to describe systems and analyse their properties. It covers the basic theory of pi-calculus, typed pi-calculi, higher-order processes, the relationship between pi-calculus and lambda-calculus, and applications of pi-calculus to object-oriented design and programming. The book is written at the graduate level, assuming no prior acquaintance with the subject, and is intended for computer scientists interested in mobile systems.

Preface
Introduction
Part I. The p-Calculus: 1. Processes
2. Behavioural equivalence
Part II. Variations of the p-Calculus: 3. Polyadicity and recursion
4. Behavioural equivalence, continued
5. Subcalculi
Part III. Typed p-Calculi: 6. Foundations
7. Subtyping
8. Advanced type systems
Part IV. Reasoning about Processes Using Types: 9. Groundwork
10. Behavioural effects of i/o types
11. Techniques for advanced type systems
Part V. The Higher-Order Paradigm: 12. Higher-order p-calculus
13. Comparing first-order and higher-order calculi
Part VI. Functions as Processes: 14. The l-calculus
15. Interpreting l-calculi
16. Interpreting typed l-calculi
17. Full abstraction
18. The local structure of the interpretations
Part VII. Objects and p-Calculus: 19. Semantic definition
20. Applications
List of notations
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Mathematical theory of computation [UYA]