Enhancement of MASCOT3 PCTE+ schema to handle graphical representation

A summary is given of a proposal to IST/15/-/7 from those members dealing with MASCOT3 'method and use elaboration' for the purpose of communicating a MASCOT3 network diagram between PCTE+ conformant MASCOT3 tools. It follows work by A.R. Riddiough, R. Foulkes and K. Jackson which proposes a PCTE+ schema intended for the interchange of information about a MASCOT3 design. That work attempted to capture the 'logic' of a MASCOT3 design in terms both of partially complete and final MASCOT3 designs. It defines all that the computer would require in order to be able to construct a MASCOT3 network. The work presented addresses the problem of communicating MASCOT3 diagrams between tools in such a manner that some aspects of the graphical notation are also communicated. Its premise is that MASCOT3 is a method of representing asynchronous systems in such a way as to make them easy to understand by humans and that the preferred mechanism of disclosing such a design to a person is by diagram. The authors focus on the philosophy of communicating diagrams and show a simple example of the schema offered for consideration in the previous work to include information of the diagrammatic kind.<>