The Application of Object-Oriented Analysis to Agent-Based Systems.
Elizabeth A. Kendall, Margaret T. Malkoun, Chong H. Jiang · 1997
Agents are important software abstractions for distributed problem solving and autonomous, pro- active behavior. They have been used in many applications, including manufacturing, enterprise integration, network management, and advanced user interfaces for worldwide web applications. As agent systems become more prevalent, the need arises for software engineering methodologies. The relationships between agents and objects, and the role of object oriented analysis in multiagent system development are discussed here. The approach is illustrated with a case study from discrete parts manufacturing. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Numerous examples can be found of applications of agent based systems to enterprise integration 31 ; concurrent engineering 5 ; and manufacturing 26 . Many agent based systems have also been developed for network management 31 , scheduling 9 , and advanced user interfaces 28 . These systems exhibit significant advances in distributed problem solving and pro-active ...