Introduction to Discrete Event Systems

The rapid evolution of computing, communication, and sensor technologies has brought about the proliferation of `new' dynamic systems, mostly technological and often highly complex. Examples are all around us: computer and communication networks; automated manufacturing systems; air traffic control systems; and distributed software systems. The `activity' in these systems is governed by operational rules designed by humans; their dynamics are therefore characterized by asynchronous occurrences of discrete events. These features lend themselves to the term discrete event system for this class of dynamic systems. A substantial portion of this book is a revised version of Discrete Event Systems: Modeling and Performance Analysis (1993), written by the first author and recipient of the 1999 International Federation of Automatic Control Triennial Control Engineering Textbook Prize. This new expanded book is intended to be a comprehensive introduction to the field of discrete event systems, emphasizing breadth of coverage and accessibility of the material to readers with possibly different backgrounds. Its key feature is the emphasis placed on a unified modeling framework that transcends specific application areas and allows linking of the following topics in a coherent manner: language and automata theory, supervisory control, Petri net theory, (max,+) algebra, Markov chains and queueing theory, discrete-event simulation, perturbation analysis, and concurrent estimation techniques. Until now, these topics had been treated in separate books or in the research literature only. Introduction to Discrete Event Systems is written as a textbook for courses at the senior undergraduate level or the first-year graduate level. It will be of interest to students in a variety of disciplines where the study of discrete event systems is relevant: control, communications, computer engineering, computer science, manufacturing engineering, operations research, and industrial engineering.

Introduction to Discrete Event Systems is a comprehensive introduction to the field of discrete event systems, offering a breadth of coverage that makes the material accessible to readers of varied backgrounds. The book emphasizes a unified modeling framework that transcends specific application areas, linking the following topics in a coherent manner: language and automata theory, supervisory control, Petri net theory, Markov chains and queueing theory, discrete-event simulation, and concurrent estimation techniques.

Distinctive features of the second edition include:

• more detailed treatment of equivalence of automata, event diagnosis, and decentralized event diagnosis
• expanded treatment of centralized and decentralized control of partially-observed systems
• new sections on timed automata with guards (in the Alur-Dill formalism) and hybrid automata
• an introduction to hybrid systems
• updated coverage of discrete event simulation, including new software tools available
• recent developments in sensitivity analysis for discrete event systems as well as hybrid systems

This textbook is valuable to advanced-level students and researchers in a variety of disciplines where the study of discrete event systems is relevant: control, communications, computer engineering, computer science, manufacturing engineering, operations research, and industrial engineering.