Abstract.
P systems are a new parallel and distributed computational model, based onn the membrane structure notion. In the regions defined by membranes, objects evolve according to given rules. In this way, we get transitions among system configurations, hence computations. Where and how P systems can be implemented is an open problem of the domain. One can look for implementations on a biochemical support (in vivo, or in vitro), on traditional computers. The implementation on digital computers can be a difficult task, at least because of the high degree of parallelism and non-determinism specific to P systems. However, this is an interesting challenge for computer researchers, and some attempts have already been done to simulate some variant of P Systems on a digital computer. This paper explores different data structures meant to facilitate the implementation of transition P systems on a digital computer. The presentation is structured in a such a manner to facilitate the understanding of the final representation of transition P systems into the proposed data structures. Firstly, we give a theoretical representation of P systems, including the necessary notation to understand their operational mode. Secondly, we study different data structures in which it is possible to represent P systems Finally, we propose a computational paradigm in order to determine the feasibility of simulating transition P systems by a program running on a digital computer.