section_path: Fields/Computer systems/Concurrent, parallel and distributed computing
section_name: Concurrent, parallel and distributed computing
paragraph_text: Concurrent, parallel and distributed computing
  
  Concurrency is a property of systems in which several computations are executing simultaneously, and potentially interacting with each other. A number of mathematical models have been developed for general concurrent computation including Petri nets, process calculi and the parallel random access machine model. When multiple computers are connected in a network while using concurrency, this is known as a distributed system. Computers within that distributed system have their own private memory, and information can be exchanged to achieve common goals.