Part 1 Agent-Oriented Software Engineering

Software deals with “abstract” entities, having a real-world counterpart:
• Numbers, dates, names, persons, documents ...
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There is a need to model and engineer both:
• An agent must be, proactive, intelligent, and it must conversate instead of doing client-server computing
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Agent-based computing:
– Introduces novel abstractions
• Lamba and pi calculus, UNITY, Petri-nets, Z ….
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CASE tools:
– To facilitate activities:
• Simulators, rapid prototyping, code generators.
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Tools:
– UML (standard), E-R, class lattices, finite state automata, visual languages …
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What is Software Engineering
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Software Engineering Abstractions
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Software is pervasive and critical:
– It cannot be built without a disciplined, engineered, approach
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Part 4 (≅1 hour): The Road Ahead & Discussion
– Open research directions and visions….
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EASSS 2002
Agent-Oriented Software Engineering
Agent-Oriented Software Engineering
Federico Bergenti Onn Shehory Franco Zambonelli
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Goal of the Lecture
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Understand and discuss:
– What Agent -Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) is and why it is important; – Key concepts.
• Data, functions, objects, agents … • I.e., what are the ABSTRACTIONS that we have to use to model software?
– The software:
• Well-defined quality level (e.g., % of errors and performances); • Enabling reuse and maintenance.
– Discuss approaches for implementing engineered agent-based systems , and their implications for methodologies .
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Please, feel free to contradict us!
– We are not necessarily repositories of TRUTH! – Your ideas may be much fresher!
There has been some debate
– On what an agent is, and what could be appropriately called an agent
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Two main viepoints:
– The (strong) Artificial Intelligence viewpoint :
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Novel, specific agent-oriented software engineering approaches are needed!
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Overview:
– Relevant AOSE methodologies; – AOSE implementation tools.
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Sugபைடு நூலகம்est interesting research directions.
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• Data-oriented methodologies, object-oriented ones … • Define the MINDSET of the methodology.
The phases of software development:
– Independent of programming paradigm; – Methodologies are typically organized around this classical process.
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May depend on the available technologies!
• Use OO abstractions for OO programming envs.; • Not necessarily: use OO abstractions because they are better, even for COBOL programming envs.
– The development process:
• Controllable, well documented, and reproducible ways of producing software;
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In what term should we model them in software?
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Requires:
– Abstractions, methodologies and tools.
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Methodologies
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Notation tools:
– To represent the outcomes of the software development phases:
• Diagrams, equations, figures …
Abstractions:
– Objects, classes, inheritance, services.
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Part 1: Outline
Part 1
Key concepts in agentoriented software engineering
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Why?
– Software engineering, agents, agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE).
Outline of the Lecture
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NOTE
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Part 1 (≅2 hours): Key Concepts
– Agents and multiagent systems from a software engineering perspective.
In this tutorial we present
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
TEST
MAINTENANCE
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Agent-Oriented Software Engineering
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Tools
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Example: OO Software Engineering
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Why Agent-Oriented Software Engineering?
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What are Agents?
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The Classical “Cascade” Process
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A methodology for software development:
– Is intended to give discipline to software development. – Defines the abstractions to use to model software:
• Requires clarifying the set of necessary abstractions • Requires adapting methodologies and producing new tools
– The (weak) Software Engineering Viewpoint