An infrastructure for agent-based systems: An interagent approach
Francisco J. Mart�n, Enric Plaza, Juan A. Rodríguez-Aguilar · International Journal of Intelligent Systems · 2000
We introduce an infrastructure for easing construction of agent-based systems. We argue that such infrastructure constitutes a convenient solution for releasing agent developers from cumbersome interaction issues inherent to any agent-based system, and therefore for helping them concentrate on the domain-dependent agents' logics issues. Our proposal relies upon two fundamental elements: conversation protocols, coordination patterns that impose a set of rules on communicative acts uttered by agents participating in a conversation (what can be said, to whom, and when), and interagents, autonomous software agents that mediate the interaction between each agent and the agent society wherein this is situated. Interagents employ conversation protocols for mediating conversations among agents. Thus management of conversation protocols is presented as raison d'être of interagents. We also introduce JIM, our java-based implementation of a general-purpose interagent. On one hand, we show how it handles conversation protocols in practice, and on the other hand, how it has been endowed with the capability of dealing with agent interaction at different levels by means of the SHIP protocol. Finally, we illustrate the use of interagents by explaining several roles that they play in Fishmarket, an agent-mediated electronic auction market. ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.