Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

International Workshop on Agent-Oriented Software Engineering

AOSE 2000: Agent-Oriented Software Engineering pp 1–28Cite as

Agent-Oriented Software Engineering: The State of the Art

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1957))

Abstract

Software engineers continually strive to develop tools and techniques to manage the complexity that is inherent in software systems. In this article, we argue that intelligent agents and multi-agent systems are just such tools. We begin by reviewing what is meant by the term “agent”, and contrast agents with objects.We then go on to examine a number of prototype techniques proposed for engineering agent systems, including methodologies for agent-oriented analysis and design, formal specification and verification methods for agent systems, and techniques for implementing agent specifications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. H. Barringer, M. Fisher, D. Gabbay, G. Gough, and R. Owens. METATEM: A framework forprogramming in temporal logic. In REX Workshop on Stepwise Refinement of DistributedSystems: Models, Formalisms, Correctness (LNCS Volume 430), pages 94–129. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, June 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  2. H. TBarringer, R. Kuiper, and A. Pnueli. A really abstract concurrent model and its temporallogic. In Proceedings of the Thirteenth ACM Symposium on the Principles of ProgrammingLanguages, pages 173–183, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bernhard Bauer, Jörg P. MÜller, and James Odell. Agent UML: A formalism for specifyingmultiagent software systems. In P. Ciancarini and M. Wooldridge, editors, Agent-OrientedSoftware Engineering-Proceedings of the First International Workshop (AOSE-2000).Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  4. M. Benerecetti, F. Giunchiglia, and L. Serafini. A model checking algorithm for multiagentsystems. In P. Müller, M. P. Singh, and A. S. Rao,editors, Intelligent Agents V(LNAIVolume 1555). Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  5. A. H. Bond and L. Gasser, editors. Readings in Distributed Artificial Intelligence. MorganKaufmann Publishers: San Mateo, CA, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  6. G. Booch. Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (second edition). Addison-Wesley: Reading,MA, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  7. G. Booch, J. Rumbaugh, and I. Jacobson. The Unified Modeling Language User Guide.Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  8. F. Brazier, B. Dunin-Keplicz, N. R. Jennings, and J. Treur. Formal specification of multiagentsystems: a real-world case. In Proceedings of the First International Conference onMulti-Agent Systems (ICMAS-95), pages 25–32, San Francisco, CA, June 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  9. R. A. Brooks. Cambrian Intelligence. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 1999.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. Birgit Burmeister. Models and methodologies for agent-oriented analysis and design. InKlaus Fischer, editor, Working Notes of the KI’96 Workshop on Agent-Oriented Programmingand Distributed Systems. 1996. DFKI Document D-96-06.

    Google Scholar 

  11. B. Chellas. Modal Logic: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England,1980.

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  12. E. M. Clarke and E. A. Emerson. Design and synthesis of synchronization skeletons usingbranching time temporal logic. In D. Kozen, editor,Logics of Programs-Proceedings 1981(LNCS Volume 131), pages 52–71. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  13. E. M. Clarke, O. Grumberg, and D. A. Peled. Model Checking. The MIT Press: Cambridge,MA, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  14. P. R. Cohen and H. J. Levesque. Intention is choice with commitment. Artificial Intelligence,42:213–261, 1990.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  15. D. Coleman, P. Arnold, S. Bodoff, C. Dollin, H. Gilchrist, F. Hayes, and P. Jeremaes. Object-Oriented Development: The FUSION Method. Prentice Hall International: Hemel Hempstead, England, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Anne Collinot, Alexis Drogoul, and Philippe Benhamou. Agent oriented design of a soccerrobot team. In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems(ICMAS-96), pages 41–47, Kyoto, Japan, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  17. D. C. Dennett. The Intentional Stance. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 1987. au18._Ralph Depke, Reiko Heckel, and Jochen Malte Kuester. Requirement specification and designof agent-based systems with graph transformation, roles, and uml. In P. Ciancarini and M. Wooldridge, editors, Agent-Oriented Software Engineering-Proceedings of the FirstInternational Workshop (AOSE-2000). Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  18. B. Dunin-Keplicz and J. Treur. Compositional formal specification of multi-agent systems.In M. Wooldridge and N. R. Jennings, editors, Intelligent Agents: Theories, Architectures,and Languages(LNAI Volume 890), pages 102–117. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, January1995.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  19. R. Fagin, J. Y. Halpern, Y. Moses, and M. Y. Vardi. Reasoning About Knowledge. TheMITPress: Cambridge, MA, 1995.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  20. R. Fagin, J. Y. Halpern, Y. Moses, and M. Y. Vardi. Knowledge-based programs. DistributedComputing, 10(4):199–225, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  21. J. Ferber. Multi-Agent Systems. Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA, 1999.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  22. M. Fisher. A survey of Concurrent METATEM-the language and its applications. InD. M. Gabbay and H. J. Ohlbach, editors, Temporal Logic-Proceedings of the First InternationalConference (LNAI Volume 827), pages 480–505. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany,July 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  23. M. Fisher. An introduction to executable temporal logic. The Knowledge Engineering Review,11(1):43–56, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. M. Fisher and M. Wooldridge. Executable temporal logic for distributed A.I. In Proceedingsof the Twelfth International Workshop on Distributed Artificial Intelligence (IWDAI-93),pages 131–142, Hidden Valley, PA, May 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  25. M. Fisher and M. Wooldridge. On the formal specification and verification of multi-agentsystems. International Journal of Cooperative Information Systems, 6(1):37–65, 1997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. M. R. Genesereth and S. P. Ketchpel. Software agents. Communications of the ACM,37(7):48–53, July 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. M. P. Georgeff and A. S. Rao. A profile of the Australian AI Institute. IEEE Expert,11(6):89–92, December 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. K. V. Hindriks, F. S. de Boer, W. van der Hoek, and J.-J. Ch. Meyer. Formal semantics foran abstract agent programming language. In M. P. Singh, A. Rao, and M. J. Wooldridge,editors, Intelligent Agents IV(LNAI Volume 1365), pages 215–230. Springer-Verlag: Berlin,Germany, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  29. K. V. Hindriks, F. S. de Boer, W. van der Hoek, and J.-J. Ch. Meyer. Control structures ofrule-based agent languages. In J. P. Müller, M. P. Singh, and A. S. Rao, editors, IntelligentAgents V(LNAI Volume 1555). Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  30. C. A. R. Hoare. An axiomatic basis for computer programming. Communications of theACM, 12(10):576–583, 1969.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  31. C. A. R. Hoare. Communicating sequential processes. Communications of the ACM, 21:666–677, 1978.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  32. M. Huhns and M. P. Singh, editors. Readings in Agents. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers: San Mateo, CA, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  33. C. A. Iglesias, M. Garijo, and J. C. Gonzalez. A survey of agent-oriented methodologies. InJ. P. Müller, M. P. Singh, and A. S. Rao, editors, Intelligent Agents V(LNAI Volume 1555).Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Carlos Iglesias, Mercedes Garijo, José C. González, and Juan R. Velasco. Analysis anddesign of multiagent systems using MAS-CommonKADS. In M. P. Singh, A. Rao, and M. J. Wooldridge, editors, Intelligent Agents IV (LNAI Volume 1365), pages 313–326. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1998

    Google Scholar 

  35. NeXT Computer Inc. Object-Oriented Programming and the Objective C Language.Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  36. N. R. Jennings. Agent-based computing: Promise and perils. In Proceedings of the SixteenthInternational Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI-99), pages 1429–1436, Stockholm, Sweden, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  37. N. R. Jennings, K. Sycara, and M. Wooldridge. A roadmap of agent research and development.Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 1(1):7–38, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. N. R. Jennings and M. Wooldridge, editors. Agent Technology: Foundations, Applications and Markets. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1998.

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  39. C. B. Jones.Systematic Software Development using VDM (second edition). Prentice Hall,1990.

    Google Scholar 

  40. L. P. Kaelbling. Learning in Embedded Systems. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Elizabeth A. Kendall. Agent software engineering with role modelling. In P. Ciancarini and M. Wooldridge, editors, Agent-Oriented Software Engineering-Proceedings of the FirstInternational Workshop (AOSE-2000). Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  42. D. Kinny, M. Georgeff, and A. Rao. A methodology and modelling technique for systems of BDI agents. In W. Van deVelde and J. W. Perram, editors,Agents Breaking Away: Proceedingsof the Seventh European Workshop on Modelling Autonomous Agents in a Multi-AgentWorld, (LNAI Volume 1038), pages 56–71. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Y. Lésperance, H. J. Levesque, F. Lin, D. Marcu, R. Reiter, and R. B. Scherl. Foundationsof a logical approach to agent programming. In M. Wooldridge, J. P. Müller, and M. Tambe,editors, Intelligent Agents II (LNAI Volume 1037), pages 331–346. Springer-Verlag: Berlin,Germany, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  44. H. Levesque, R. Reiter, Y. Lespérance, F. Lin, and R. ptScherl. Golog: A logic programminglanguage for dynamic domains. Journal of Logic Programming, 31:59–84, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. M. Luck and M. d’Inverno. A formal framework for agency and autonomy. In Proceedingsof the First International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems (ICMAS-95), pages 254–260,San Francisco, CA, June 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  46. M. Luck, N. Griffiths, and M. d’Inverno. From agent theory to agent construction: A casestudy. In J. P. Müller, M. Wooldridge, and N. R. Jennings, editors, Intelligent Agents III(LNAI Volume 1193), pages 49–64. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  47. P. Maes. Agents that reduce work and information overload. Communications of the ACM,37(7):31–40, July 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Z. Manna and A. Pnueli. Temporal Verification of Reactive Systems-Safety. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1995.

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  49. Z. Manna and P. Wolper. Synthesis of communicating processes from temporal logic speci-fications. ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems,6(1):68–93, January1984.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  50. C. Morgan. Programming from Specifications (second edition). Prentice Hall International: Hemel Hempstead, England, 1994.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  51. James Odell, H. Van Dyke Parunak, and Bernhard Bauer. Representing agent interactionprotocols in UML. In P. Ciancarini and M. Wooldridge, editors, Agent-Oriented SoftwareEngineering-Proceedings of the First International Workshop (AOSE-2000). Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  52. The Object Management Group (OMG). See http://www.omg.org/.

  53. Andrea Omicini. Soda: Societies and infrastructures in the analysis and design of agentbasedsystems. In P. Ciancarini and M. Wooldridge, editors, Agent-Oriented Software Engineering-Proceedings of the First International Workshop (AOSE-2000). Springer-Verlag:Berlin, Germany, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  54. A. Pnueli. Specification and development of reactive systems. InInformation Processing 86.Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  55. A. Pnueli and R. Rosner. On the synthesis of a reactive module. In Proceedings of theSixteenth ACM Symposium on the Principles of Programming Languages (POPL), pages179–190, January 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  56. A. S. Rao. AgentSpeak(L): BDI agents speak out in a logical computable language. InW. Van de Velde and J. W. Perram, editors, Agents Breaking Away: Proceedings of the SeventhEuropean Workshop on Modelling Autonomous Agents in a Multi-Agent World, (LNAIVolume 1038), pages 42–55. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  57. A. S. Rao and M. Georgeff. BDI Agents: from theory to practice. In Proceedings of theFirst International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems (ICMAS-95), pages 312–319, SanFrancisco, CA, June 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  58. A. S. Rao and M. P. Georgeff. A model-theoretic approach to the verification of situated reasoningsystems. In Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Joint Conference on ArtificialIntelligence (IJCAI-93), pages 318–324, Chambéry, France, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  59. A. S. Rao and M. P. Georgeff. Formal models and decision procedures for multi-agent systems.Technical Note 61, Australian AI Institute, Level 6, 171 La Trobe Street, Melbourne,Australia, June 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  60. S. J. Rosenschein and L. P. Kaelbling. A situated view of representation and control. In P. E. Agre and S. J. Rosenschein, editors, Computational Theories of Interaction and Agency,pages 515–540. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  61. J. Rumbaugh, M. Blaha, W. Premerlani, F. Eddy, and W. Lorensen. Object-Oriented Modelingand Design. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliifs, NJ, 1991.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  62. Y. Shoham. Agent-oriented programming. Artificial Intelligence, 60(1):51–92, 1993.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  63. R. G. Smith.A Framework for Distributed Problem Solving. UMI Research Press, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  64. R. M. Smullyan. First-Order Logic. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 1968.

    Google Scholar 

  65. M. Spivey. The Z Notation (second edition). Prentice Hall International: Hemel Hempstead,England, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  66. G. Weiß, editor. Multi-Agent Systems. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Mark Wood and Scott A. DeLoach. An overview of the multiagent systems engineeringmethodology. In P. Ciancarini and M. Wooldridge, editors, Agent-Oriented Software Engineering-Proceedings of the First International Workshop (AOSE-2000). Springer-Verlag:Berlin, Germany, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  68. M. Wooldridge. The Logical Modelling of Computational Multi-Agent Systems. PhD thesis,Department of Computation, UMIST, Manchester, UK, October 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  69. M. Wooldridge. This is MYWORLD: The logic of an agent-oriented testbed for DAI. In M. Wooldridge and N. R. Jennings, editors, Intelligent Agents: Theories, Architectures, andLanguages (LNAI Volume 890), pages 160–178. Springer-Verlag: Berlin, Germany, January1995.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  70. M. Wooldridge. Agent-based software engineering. IEE Proceedings on Software Engineering,144(1):26–37, February 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  71. M. Wooldridge. Reasoning about Rational Agents. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 2000.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  72. M. Wooldridge and N. R. Jennings. Intelligent agents: Theory and practice. The KnowledgeEngineering Review, 10(2):115–152, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  73. M. Wooldridge and N. R. Jennings. Pitfalls of agent-oriented development. In Proceedingsof the Second International Conference on Autonomous Agents (Agents 98), pages 385–391,Minneapolis/St Paul, MN, May 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  74. M. Wooldridge, N. R. Jennings, and D. Kinny. A methodology for agent-oriented analysisand design. In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Autonomous Agents(Agents 99), pages 69–76, Seattle, WA, May 1999.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZF, UK

    Michael Wooldridgey

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Informazione, University of Bologna, Mura Anteo Zamboni 7, 47127, Bologna, Italy

    Paolo Ciancarini

Authors
  1. Michael Wooldridgey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paolo Ciancarini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Science, University of Bologna, Mura Anteo Zamboni 7, 40127, Bologna, Italy

    Paolo Ciancarini

  2. Department of Computer Science, The University of Liverpool, Chadwick Building, Peach Street, L69 7ZF, Liverpool, UK

    Michael J. Wooldridge

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Wooldridgey, M., Ciancarini, P. (2001). Agent-Oriented Software Engineering: The State of the Art. In: Ciancarini, P., Wooldridge, M.J. (eds) Agent-Oriented Software Engineering. AOSE 2000. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1957. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44564-1_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44564-1_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-41594-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-44564-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation