Petri Net
Petri Net is a mathematical modeling language used to describe and analyze systems with concurrent, asynchronous, or distributed behavior, particularly in computer science, engineering, and workflow management. It consists of places (representing states or conditions), transitions (representing events or actions), and tokens (representing resources or data) that flow through the network via arcs. This graphical and formal tool helps visualize system dynamics, detect deadlocks, and verify properties like liveness and boundedness.
Developers should learn Petri Nets when working on systems involving concurrency, parallel processing, or complex workflows, such as in distributed computing, manufacturing automation, or protocol design. It is valuable for modeling and analyzing deadlocks, resource allocation, and state transitions in software or hardware systems, aiding in debugging and optimization. Use cases include simulating business processes, verifying communication protocols, and designing embedded systems with timing constraints.