Concurrency, Time, and Constraints

Concurrent constraint programming (ccp) is a model of concurrency for systems in which agents (also called processes) interact with one another by telling and asking information in a shared medium. Timed (or temporal) ccp extends ccp by allowing agents to be constrained by time requirements. The novelty of timed ccp is that it combines in one framework an operational and algebraic view based upon process calculi with a declarative view based upon temporal logic. This allows the model to benefit from two well-established theories used in the study of concurrency.This essay offers an overview of timed ccp covering its basic background and central developments. The essay also includes an introduction to a temporal ccp formalism called the ntcc calculus.