Title: Formal Resource Flow Composition
Speaker: Petros Papapanagiotou
Abstract:
Resource flows are models of how resources travel across connected processes. They offer a different perspective to more typical workflow models (e.g. flow charts) where the focus is on control flow (the order of execution). Formal composition involves the rigorous, logic-based combination of processes to build resource flows with guaranteed properties, particularly systematic resource accounting (so that resources do no appear from/disappear into thin air). I will describe the problem in the context of the WorkflowFM system developed over the past 11 years. This relies on the HOL Light theorem prover to perform compositions via proof in Classical Linear Logic. In this particular talk I will focus on practical examples to demonstrate the conceptual challenges. Describing this work has been a challenge in itself, as WorkflowFM can fit may different contexts and paradigms (program synthesis, scientific workflows, Business Process Management, data streams handling, etc.). I am hoping to gather some feedback after the talk on your understanding and perspective, towards improving how these concepts can be better presented.