Modeling Multi-Agent Systems through Event-driven Lightweight DSC-based Agents
Giancarlo Fortino, Alfredo Garro, Samuele Mascillaro, Wilma Russo · 2008
To date several agent models and related programming frameworks have been introduced for developing distributed applications in terms of multi-agent systems in open and dynamic environments. Among them, those based on lightweight architectures, asynchronous messages/events and state-based programming such as Jade, Bond and Actors have demonstrated great effectiveness for modeling open and distributed software systems. In this paper, we propose the Event-driven Lightweight Distilled StateCharts-based Agent (ELDA) model which is based on the same basics of the aforementioned agent models and frameworks, and further enables a more effective design through (i) Statecharts-based specification of the agent behavior, (ii) multiple coordination spaces for local/remote inter-agent and agent/non-agent-component interactions, and (iii) a coarsegrained strong agent mobility. A MAS based on the ELDA model can be easily designed through the ELDA meta-model and programmed through the ELDAFramework, a Java-based implementation of the meta-model. MAS programming is supported by the ELDATool, an Eclipse-based visual tool which also automates code generation. A simple yet effective case study is provided to exemplify the proposed model and its related tools.