Reflections on the Future of Concurrency Theory in General and Process Calculi in Particular

In this article we review the current state of concurrency theory with respect to its industrial impact. This review is both retrospective and prospective, and naturally encompasses process calculi, which are a major vector for spreading concurrency theory concepts. Considering the achievements, but also the failures, we try to identify the causes that, so far, prevented a larger dissemination of process calculi. This suggests a new generation of formal specification languages that would combine the concurrent features of process calculi with the standard concepts present in algorithmic languages. Finally, we underline two major evolutions in the software and hardware industries that open new application domains for the concurrency theory community.