OMPetri - A Software Application for Modeling and Simulation Using Extended Hybrid Petri Nets by Employing OpenModelica

摘要

In this paper we present OMPetri, a new tool for modeling, simulation, and analyzing of a powerful unifying Petri net concept: extended hybrid Petri nets (xHPN). The software features a modern, lightweight, and intuitive graphical user interface that focuses on users who are new to Petri nets, while also enabling experienced users to model more complex and advanced systems. It has not been designed for any specific application cases. Thus it is as universal as the related Petri net formalism that can be applied for modeling systems of various research areas, such as systems biology, business processes, and industrial workflows. It greatly enables and simplifies the modeling of discrete, continuous, and hybrid Petri nets. New models can be created and existing models can be modified and improved quickly and easily due to two different model views. During the process of modeling, the Petri net may change its class (discrete, continuous, hybrid) and solving strategies for conflicts can be defined. The tool employs OpenModelica and the advanced Modelica Petri net library PNlib to provide an elaborated and powerful simulation environment. Additionally, it provides basic features to check and evaluate the model and to analyze simulation results generated by the simulation back-end. Both, the tool, as well as OpenModelica are open source and free of charge for academic usage. Java source code, executable JAR and a tutorial are available at: https://agbi.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/OMPetri.