A graphical interface for analysis of communication protocols

In this paper we describe a graphical interface that is an effective tool for displaying and analyzing communication protocols. Asynchronous distributed systems, and communication networks in particular, are often very complex and the interactions between processors are difficult to understand. The graphical interface provides an intuitive representation of those interactions and facilitates the user's understanding of the behavior of the system. The interface was developed to display the Trans, Tracks and Total protocols and has already proved useful in debugging a simulator for those protocols. It can also be used to display the behavior of other protocols.

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