Skip to main content

Testing and Debugging of MAS Interactions with INGENIAS

  • Conference paper
Agent-Oriented Software Engineering IX (AOSE 2008)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 5386))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Testing and debugging activities are getting more relevance in multi-agent systems (MAS) as agents become part of real applications. Both activities are related, since failures to be debugged are frequently detected during the execution of tests. The support for these activities is not yet as complete as other activities of MAS development. However, agent oriented software engineering methodologies are incorporating new testing and debugging features. In this direction, the paper introduces advances made in the INGENIAS agent development framework towards a complete coverage of testing and debugging activities. The advances are compared with respect to a categorisation of related works in the agent literature. This categorisation will be useful for evaluating and planning issues for improvement in the context of INGENIAS.

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

Access this chapter

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

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Alberti, M., Daolio, D., Torroni, P., Gavanelli, M., Lamma, E., Mello, P.: Specification and verification of agent interaction protocols in a logic-based system. In: SAC 2004: Proceedings of the ACM symposium on Applied computing, pp. 72–78. ACM, New York (2004)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  2. Bordini, R.H., Dastani, M., Dix, J., El Fallah Seghrouchni, A. (eds.): PROMAS 2006. LNCS, vol. 4411. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. Bordini, R.H., Braubach, L., Dastani, M., El Fallah Seghrouchni, A., Leite, J., Gómez-Sanz, J.J., O’Hare, G., Pokahr, A., Ricci, A.: A survey of programming languages and platforms for multi-agent systems. Informatica Journal 30(1), 33–44 (2006)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Botía, J.A., Hernansaez, J.M., Gómez-Skarmeta, A.F.: Towards an approach for debugging mas through the analysis of acl messages. In: Lindemann, G., Denzinger, J., Timm, I.J., Unland, R. (eds.) MATES 2004. LNCS, vol. 3187, pp. 301–312. Springer, Heidelberg (2004)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Caire, G., Cossentino, M., Negri, A., Poggi, A., Turci, P.: Multi-agent systems implementation and testing. In: From Agent Theory to Agent Implementation Fourth International Symposium (AT2AI-4), Vienna, Austria (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Castelfranchi, C.: Simulating with cognitive agents: The importance of cognitive emergence. In: Sichman, et al. (eds.) [24], pp. 26–44

    Google Scholar 

  7. Coelho, R., Kulesza, U., von Staa, A., Lucena, C.: Unit testing in multi-agent systems using mock agents and aspects. In: SELMAS 2006: Proceedings of the 2006 international workshop on Software engineering for large-scale multi-agent systems, pp. 83–90. ACM, New York (2006)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Collier, R.W.: Debugging agents in agent factory. In: Bordini, et al. (eds.) [2], pp. 229–248

    Google Scholar 

  9. Conte, R., Gilbert, N., Sichman, J.S.: Mas and social simulation: A suitable sommitment. In: Sichman, et al. (eds.) [24], pp. 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  10. David, N., Sichman, J.S., Coelho, H.: Towards an emergence-driven software process for agent-based simulation. In: Sichman, J.S., Bousquet, F., Davidsson, P. (eds.) MABS 2002. LNCS, vol. 2581, pp. 89–104. Springer, Heidelberg (2003)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  11. Fadil, H., Koning, J.-L.: Rules for translating interaction protocols into a b formal representation. In: Skowron, A., Barthès, J.-P.A., Jain, L.C., Sun, R., Morizet-Mahoudeaux, P., Liu, J., Zhong, N. (eds.) IAT, pp. 495–498. IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  12. El Fallah-Seghrouchni, A., Haddad, S., Mazouzi, H.: A formal study of interactions in multi-agent systems. I. J. Comput. Appl. 8(1) (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Ferber, J.: Multi-Agent Systems: An Introduction to Distributed Artificial Intelligence. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Fuentes-Fernández, R., Gómez-Sanz, J.J., Pavón, J.: Model driven development of multi-agent systems with repositories of social patterns. In: O’Hare, G.M.P., Ricci, A., O’Grady, M.J., Dikenelli, O. (eds.) ESAW 2006. LNCS, vol. 4457, pp. 126–142. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. Gómez-Sanz, J.J., Pavón, J.: Methodologies for developing multi-agent systems. Journal of Universal Computer Science 10(4), 359–374 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Lam, D.N., Barber, K.S.: Comprehending agent software. In: AAMAS 2005: Proceedings of the fourth international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems, pp. 586–593. ACM, New York (2005)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  17. Myers, G.J., Sandler, C., Badgett, T., Thomas, T.M.: The Art of Software Testing, 2nd edn. Wiley, Chichester (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Nguyen, C.D., Perini, A., Tonella, P.: A goal-oriented software testing methodology. In: Luck, M., Padgham, L. (eds.) Agent-Oriented Software Engineering VIII. LNCS, vol. 4951, pp. 58–72. Springer, Heidelberg (2008)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  19. Nguyen, D.C., Perini, A., Tonella, P.: ecat: a tool for automating test cases generation and execution in testing multi-agent systems. In: AAMAS (Demos), IFAAMAS, pp. 1669–1670. (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Paurobally, S., Cunningham, J., Jennings, N.R.: Developing agent interaction protocols using graphical and logical methodologies. In: Dastani, M., Dix, J., El Fallah-Seghrouchni, A. (eds.) PROMAS 2003. LNCS, vol. 3067, pp. 149–168. Springer, Heidelberg (2004)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  21. Poutakidis, D., Padgham, L., Winikoff, M.: Debugging multi-agent systems using design artifacts: the case of interaction protocols. In: AAMAS, pp. 960–967. ACM, New York (2002)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  22. Poutakidis, D., Padgham, L., Winikoff, M.: An exploration of bugs and debugging in multi-agent systems. In: AAMAS 2003: Proceedings of the second international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems, pp. 1100–1101. ACM, New York (2003)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  23. Quenum, J.G., Aknine, S., Briot, J.-P., Honiden, S.: A modeling framework for generic agent interaction protocols. In: Baldoni, M., Endriss, U. (eds.) DALT 2006. LNCS, vol. 4327, pp. 207–224. Springer, Heidelberg (2006)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  24. Sichman, J.S., Conte, R., Gilbert, N. (eds.): MABS 1998. LNCS, vol. 1534, pp. 1–9. Springer, Heidelberg (1998)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  25. Sudeikat, J., Braubach, L., Pokahr, A., Lamersdorf, W., Renz, W.: Validation of bdi agents. In: Bordini, et al. (eds.) [2], pp. 185–200

    Google Scholar 

  26. Weyns, D., Schelfthout, K., Holvoet, T.: Architectural design of a distributed application with autonomic quality requirements. SIGSOFT Softw. Eng. Notes 30(4), 1–7 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Gómez-Sanz, J.J., Botía, J., Serrano, E., Pavón, J. (2009). Testing and Debugging of MAS Interactions with INGENIAS. In: Luck, M., Gomez-Sanz, J.J. (eds) Agent-Oriented Software Engineering IX. AOSE 2008. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5386. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01338-6_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01338-6_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-01337-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-01338-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics