Petri nets, FCCS, and synchronous languages to specify discrete events systems: a comparative synthesis on validation power

A comparative synthesis on the formal specification and validation models is presented: Petri nets, FCCS (functional charts for control systems) and synchronous languages (Lustre, Signal, Esterel, Argos and the Statecharts). The Petri nets and the FCCS are convenient models to describe the behaviour of control systems, while the synchronous languages are dedicated to real-time systems programming. The interest and deficiency of each model is discussed. Finally we present the main methods of validation for those models, and discuss the use of Petri nets and the synchronous languages for the validation of the FCCS model.