Concurrent, interacting systems are becoming more and more widespread. Examples include distributed algorithms, operating systems, communication protocols, computer architectures, and digital circuits.

The theoretical challenges of such systems resulted in various formal approaches to their specification, analysis and verification. These approaches are based on operational models, process algebras, temporal and modal logics, and compositional calculi for design and verification. Current research problems in the theory of concurrent systems are the search for suitable notions of semantic equivalence, the analysis of system refinement, the issue of true concurrency versus interleaving semantics, and the formal description of real-time and probabilistic systems.

On the other hand, the construction of realistic distributed algorithms or the implementation of concurrent systems is mostly ignored in this theoretical work. However, the correct synthesis of such systems is often of vital importance. To cope with these tasks, pragmatic and - from a theoretical point of view - more ad hoc approaches have been . developed. These approaches include iterative programs, interface specifications, automatic finite state verification, implemented tools for system specification, and separate industrial methods.

The organizers of this workshop find that too little communication is going on between the more theoretical and the more applied work on concurrent systems. The aim of this workshop was therefore to bring together representatives of both sides. The result was a very stimulating meeting with 26 talks (see the abstracts - in the order of presentation - below), lots of discussion, and one demonstration of a tool for interactive system design. All participants welcomed the plan for a successor workshop where specific case studies should be discussed.

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