Title
Stochastic Simulation Of Process Calculi For Biology
Abstract
Biological systems typically involve large numbers of components with complex, highly parallel interactions and intrinsic stochasticity. To model this complexity, numerous programming languages based on process calculi have been developed, many of which are expressive enough to generate unbounded numbers of molecular species and reactions. As a result of this expressiveness, such calculi cannot rely on standard reaction-based simulation methods, which require fixed numbers of species and reactions. Rather than implementing custom stochastic simulation algorithms for each process calculus, we propose to use a generic abstract machine that can be instantiated to a range of process calculi and a range of reaction-based simulation algorithms. The abstract machine functions as a just-in-time compiler, which dynamically updates the set of possible reactions and chooses the next reaction in an iterative cycle. In this short paper we give a brief summary of the generic abstract machine, and show how it can be instantiated with the stochastic simulation algorithm known as Gillespie's Direct Method. We also discuss the wider implications of such an abstract machine, and outline how it can be used to simulate multiple calculi simultaneously within a common framework.
Year
DOI
Venue
2010
10.4204/EPTCS.40.1
ELECTRONIC PROCEEDINGS IN THEORETICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE
Keywords
DocType
Issue
abstract machine,biological systems,direct method,programming language,just in time compiler,process calculus,process calculi,quantitative method,stochastic simulation
Journal
40
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
2075-2180
1
0.37
References 
Authors
11
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Andrew Phillips122717.50
Matthew R. Lakin27910.99
Loïc Paulevé320418.68