This monograph is dedicated to a novel approach for uniform modelling of
timed and hybrid systems. Heinrich Rust presents a time model which
allows for both the description of discrete time steps and continuous
processes with a dense real-number time model. The proposed time model
is well suited to express synchronicity of events in a real-number time
model as well as strict causality by using uniform discrete time steps.
Thus it integrates and reconciles two views of time that are commonly
used separately in di?erent application domains. In many discrete
systems time is modelled by discrete steps of uniform length, in
continuous systems time is seen as a dense ?ow.
Themainideatointegratethesedi?erentviewsisadiscretizationofthedense
real-number time structure by using constant in?nitesimal time steps
within each real-number point in time. The underlying mathematical
structure of this time model is based on concepts of Non-standard
Analysis as proposed by Abraham Robinson in the 1950s. The discrete
modelling, i.e., the descr- tion of sequential discrete algorithms at
di?erent abstraction levels, is done with Abstract State Machines along
the formalisms developed by Yuri Gu- vich and temporal logic. These
ingredients produce a rich formal basis for describing a large variety
of systems with quantitative linear time prop- ties, by seamless
integration, re?nement and embedding of continuous and discrete models
into one uniform semantic framework called"Non-standard Timed Abstract
State Machines"(NTASM).