tok: a textual concrete syntax of BPMN and DMN for humans and AI agents

Abstract

tok is a plain-text notation for Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) 2.0.2 process models and Decision Model and Notation (DMN) 1.5 decisions. One engine checks a tok document against both standards, compiles the document to XML with an automatic diagram, and serves language-model applications through the Model Context Protocol. The paper classifies the notation as an alternative concrete syntax of the BPMN and DMN metamodels and reports one study. A tok model takes 2.2 times fewer tokens than the smallest BPMN XML of 893 files exported by 37 tools and 7.7 times fewer than the files as exported. The checker signals 98.2% of 1,411 injected faults, against 85.8% for the XML Schema with bpmnlint. Four language models new to tok write valid tok from a one-page reference for 85.7 to 100% of 87 process descriptions from two datasets and valid BPMN XML for every description, and the strongest model writes tok with 25% and 19% fewer tokens than BPMN XML. As agents with a lean skill and one checker tool, the models write valid tok for 97.6 to 100% of the descriptions, the strongest model spends 21% and 14% fewer tokens on tok than on BPMN XML, and a skill which sends the model to read the reference through a tool costs 1.7 to 2.8 times the tokens of the lean skill. Of 47 event logs simulated from public models, 44 fit their source models, and tok imports every model discovered from the logs.