To run Workcraft, extract the files from the archive downloaded by following the link above and run the start-up script.

In the Windows distribution, the script is called workcraft.js and can be run either by double-clicking on it in the Windows Explorer window or by typing workcraft in the command-line window (current directory should be the directory extracted from the distribution archive).

In the Linux distribution, the script is called workcraft.sh

Note for Linux users: it is highly recommended to use Sun's proprietary JRE (not OpenJDK). There are small graphical bugs when using OpenJDK, additionally Sun's JRE is much faster.

For better performance, it is also recommended to turn desktop effects (e.g. Compiz) off.

Please see the detailed instructions.

If you happen to find a bug in Workcraft (which is quite likely ), please help the developers by filing a bug report.

A large number of models that are employed in the field of concurrent systems design, such as Petri Nets, gate-level circuits, Static Data Flow Structures and Conditional Partial Order Graphs have an underlying static graph structure. Their semantics, however, is defined using additional entities, e.g. tokens or node/arc states, which in turn form the overall state of the system.

We jointly refer to such formalisms as Interpreted Graph Models. The similarities in notation allow for links between different models to be created, such as interfaces between different formalisms or conversion from one model type into another, which greatly extend the range of applicable analysis techniques.

Workcraft is designed to provide a flexible common framework for development of Interpreted Graph Models, including visual editing, (co-)simulation and analysis. The latter can be carried out either directly or by mapping a model into a behaviourally equivalent model of a different type (usually a Petri Net). Hence the user can design a system using the most appropriate formalism (or even different formalisms for the subsystems), while still utilising the power of Petri Net analysis techniques. The tool is platform-independent, highly customisable by means of plug-ins, and is freely available for academic use.