JiVE: JAFMAS INTEGRATED VISUAL ENVIRONMENT
Alan Keith Galan · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · 2000
JiVE (JAFMAS integrated Visual Environment) is a software tool for the design and implementation of multi-agent systems. JiVE allows a designer to draw a multi-agent system graphically, specify the necessary properties, check the design for correctness, and deploy their application. This can all be done while working collaboratively with designers located elsewhere. JiVE draws on research in agents, multi-agent systems and system design. JiVE offers a set of intuitive, easy to use interfaces that enable a designer to completely specify the agents and agent interactions in a multi-agent system. Also presented in this thesis is an algorithm to check the coherency of the multi-agent system. This algorithm, integrated into JiVE, gives one-touch access to design verification. The compilation of the multi-agent system and the generation of source code, in JAFMAS format, follows design verification. Furthermore, the ability for distributed collaborative work enhances JiVE’s features. JiVE pulls from the work in the Computer Supported Collaborative Work research area to provide an application that allows designers whom are not co-located to design a multi-agent system together. JiVE handles all of the issues of concurrency and design consistency, and provides an easy to use collaborative environment. Furthermore, JiVE provides a unique set of features for a multi-agent system design tool. Commonly used techniques in multi-agent system design and collaborative computing, such as web-based collaboration, agent communication languages, and a fully featured Java-based Graphical User Interface are combined in JIVE. This distinct combination of features makes JiVE stand out among the existing multi-agent system design tools. This thesis presents the research related to the application of the JiVE software, along with descriptions of its design and implementation. A supply chain example exercises the software, conclusions are drawn, and we suggest future improvements and enhancements.