OVERVIEW
Discrete Event Systems: Modeling and Performance Analysis is the first instructional text to be published in an emerging area that spans such disciplines as systems and control theory, operations research, and computer science. Developments in this area are impacting the design and analysis of complex computer-based engineering systems. Designed for seniors and first-year graduate students, the book shows where Discrete Event Systems (DES) appear in modern technological environments, such as computer networks, automated manufacturing processes, and airport and highway traffic systems. The text provides a unified framework for modeling, design, analysis, and control of these "man made" dynamic systems.
OBJECTIVES OF THE TEXT

  • Explain the characteristics of DES and show how they differ from classical systems.
  • Describe the differences between various modeling approaches, from simple to more complex untimed to timed, and deterministic to stochastic.
  • Develop two general directions in analyzing DES models:
- The classical probabilistic approach, using stochastic process theory.
- Computer simulation and sample path analysis.
  • Show how to simulate DES using commercially available software or from first principles.
  • Provide the basis for further study in such areas as advanced queuing theory, dynamic control of DES perturbation analysis, and sample path constructability techniques.
FEATURES OF THE TEXT
  • Focus on the timed aspects of DES. The fundamentals of untimed models and analysis are presented in Chapter 2 to give the student an overview of the entire field.
  • Introduction to queuing theory (Chapter 6) as a method of analysis and performance evaluation.
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