In this paper we present history-dependent automata (HD-automata in brief). They are an extension of ordinary automata that overcomes their limitations in dealing with history-dependent formalisms. In a history-dependent formalism the actions that a system can perform carry information generated in the past history of the system. The most interesting example is -calculus: channel names can be created by some actions and they can then be referenced by successive actions. Other examples are CCS with localities and the history-preserving semantics of Petri nets. Ordinary

We present a presheaf model for the observation of infinite as well as finite computations. We apply it to give a denotational semantics of SCCS with finite delay, in which the meanings of recursion are given by final coalgebras and meanings of finite delay by initial algebras of the process equations for delay. This can be viewed as a first step in representing fairness in presheaf semantics. We give a concrete representation of the presheaf model as a category of generalised synchronisation trees and show that it is coreflective in a category of generalised transition systems, which are a special case of the general transition systems of Hennessy and Stirling. The open map bisimulation is shown to coincide with the extended bisimulation of Hennessy and Stirling. Finally we formulate Milners operational semantics of SCCS with finite delay in terms of generalised transition systems and prove that the presheaf semantics is fully abstract with respect to extended bisimulation

We recast dataflow in a modern categorical light using profunctors as a generalization of relations. The well known causal anomalies associated with relational semantics of indeterminate dataflow are avoided, but still we preserve much of the intuitions of a relational model. The development fits with the view of categories of models for concurrency and the general treatment of bisimulation they provide. In particular it fits with the recent categorical formulation of feedback using traced monoidal categories. The payoffs are: (1) explicit relations to existing models and semantics, especially the usual axioms of monotone IO automata are read off from the definition of profunctors, (2) a new definition of bisimulation for dataflow, the proof of the congruence of which benefits from the preservation properties associated with open maps and (3) a treatment of higher-order dataflow as a biproduct, essentially by following the geometry of interaction programme.

This thesis is concerned with formal semantics and models for concurrent computational systems, that is, systems consisting of a number of parallel computing sequential systems, interacting with each other and the environment. A formal semantics gives meaning to computational systems by describing their behaviour in a mathematical model. For concurrent systems the interesting aspect of their computation is often how they interact with the environment during a computation and not in which state they terminate, indeed they may not be intended to terminate at all. For this reason they are often referred to as reactive systems, to distinguish them from traditional calculational systems, as e.g. a program calculating your income tax, for which the interesting behaviour is the answer it gives when (or if) it terminates, in other words the (possibly partial) function it computes between input and output. Church's thesis tells us that regardless of whether we choose the lambda calculus, Turing machines, or almost any modern programming language such as C or Java to describe calculational systems, we are able to describe exactly the same class of functions. However, there is no agreement on observable behaviour for concurrent reactive systems, and consequently there is no correspondent to Church's thesis. A result of this fact is that an overwhelming number of di#erent and often competing notions of observable behaviours, primitive operations, languages and mathematical models for describing their semantics, have been proposed in the litterature on concurrency.

The article discusses causal models, such as Petri nets and event structures, how they have been rediscovered in a wide variety of recent applications, and why they are fundamental to computer science. A discussion of their present limitations leads to their extension with symmetry. The consequences, actual and potential, are discussed.

We present a presheaf model for the observation of infinite as well as finite computations. We apply it to give a denotational semantics of SCCS with finite delay, in which the meanings of recursion are given by final coalgebras and meanings of finite delay by initial algebras of the process equations for delay. This can be viewed as a first step in representing fairness in presheaf semantics. We give a concrete representation of the presheaf model as a category of generalised synchronisation trees and show that it is coreflective in a category of generalised transition systems, which are a special case of the general transition systems of Hennessy and Stirling. The open map bisimulation is shown to coincide with extended bisimulation of Hennessy and Stirling, which is essentially fair CTL*-bisimulation. Finally we formulate Milners operation semantics of SCCS with finite delay in terms of generalised transition systems and prove that the presheaf semantics is fully abstract with respect to extended bisimulation.

A compositional encoding of the π-calculus into infinitary CCS is given that maps reduction bisimilarity in π-calculus onto bisimilarity in CCS in a fully abstract way.

The article discusses causal models, such as Petri nets and event structures, how they have been rediscovered in a wide variety of recent applications, and why they are fundamental to computer science. A discussion of their present limitations leads to their extension with symmetry. The consequences, actual and potential, are discussed.