Coordination of Internet Agents: Models, Technologies, and Applications

by Andrea Omicini (Editor), Franco Zambonelli (Editor), Matthias Klusch (Editor), Robert Tolksdorf (Editor)

Overview

As today's most complex computing environment, the Internet confronts IT researchers, system designers, and application developers with completely new challenges and, as a fascinating new computing paradigm, agent technology has recently attracted broad interest and strong hopes for shaping the future information society. Relating both, the Internet and agents, opens up a whole new range of advanced applications in vibrant subfields of information technology such as middleware, mobile commerce, e-learning, collaborative working, and intelligent information services. Many modern advanced systems are likely to exploit Internet agents - and exploiting Internet agents mostly means dealing with coordination models and technologies of various sorts. This monograph-like anthology is the first systematic guide to models and enabling technologies for the coordination of intelligent agents on the Internet and respective applications.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783540416135
Publisher:	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publication date:	04/27/2001
Edition description:	2001
Pages:	524
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.05(d)

Table of Contents

Part I.	Coordination Models and Languages: State of the Art
	Introduction	3
1.	Coordination Models: A Guided Tour	6
1.1	Introduction and Motivation	6
1.2	The Starting Point: The Dataspace Model for Coordinating Agents	9
1.3	Extending the Coordination Primitives	12
1.4	Reshaping the Coordination Media	17
1.5	Programming the Coordination Rules	21
1.6	Conclusions	23
2.	Models and Technologies for the Coordination of Internet Agents: A Survey	25
2.1	Introduction	25
2.2	Basic Coordination Infrastructure	28
2.3	Coordination Frameworks	38
2.4	Logical Coordination	49
2.5	Conclusions	54
Part II.	Basic Enabling Technologies
	Introduction	59
3.	Run-Time Systems for Coordination	61
3.1	Introduction	61
3.2	Coordination Systems in General	62
3.3	Taxonomy of Tuple-based Run-time Systems	64
3.4	LAN and Parallel Computing Implementations: The First and Second Generation	67
3.5	Open Implementation Techniques	69
3.6	Adding Explicit Information to Linda Programs	74
3.7	From LAN to WAN: The Third Generation	75
3.8	The Future: The Tuple Mega-Server?	79
3.9	Conclusions	82
4.	Tuple-based Technologies for Coordination	83
4.1	The Origins	83
4.2	Towards Open Distributed Systems: A Taxonomy for Lindaderived Systems	85
4.3	Systems Extending Primitives	88
4.4	Systems Adding Programmability	97
4.5	Systems Modifying the Model	105
4.6	Conclusions	109
5.	Middleware Technologies: CORBA and Mobile Agents	110
5.1	Middleware Technologies for Open and Global Distributed Systems	110
5.2	Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)	114
5.3	Mobile Agents	122
5.4	Middleware Technologies: the Integration of MA and CORBA	129
5.5	CORBA/MA Integrated Supports: Grasshopper and SOMA	139
5.6	Concluding Remarks	151
6.	Agent Coordination via Scripting Languages	153
6.1	Introduction	153
6.2	A Conceptual Framework for Software Composition	155
6.3	Scripting Languages at a Glance	160
6.4	Scripting in Practice	167
6.5	Summary, Conclusions	174
Part III.	High-Level Enabling Coordination Technologies
	Introduction	179
7.	Coordinating Agents using Agent Communication Languages Conversations	183
7.1	Introduction	183
7.2	From Agent Communication Languages to Conversation Protocols	185
7.3	Coordination using Conversation Protocols	187
7.4	Modeling Conversation Protocols with Colored Petri Nets	188
7.5	Advantages for Coordination when using CPN-described Conversations	193
7.6	Related Work	194
7.7	Conclusions	195
8.	Brokering and Matchmaking for Coordination of Agent Societies: A Survey	197
8.1	Introduction	197
8.2	Coordination of Agent Societies via Middle-Agents	198
8.3	Examples of Coordination via Service Matchmaking and Brokering	212
8.4	Conclusions	223
9.	Agent Naming and Coordination: Actor Based Models and Infrastructures	225
9.1	Introduction	225
9.2	Actors and Agents	227
9.3	Naming in Open Systems	230
9.4	World Wide Computer Prototype	234
9.5	Multiagent Coordination	238
9.6	Discussion	245
Part IV.	Emerging Issues of Coordination
	Introduction	249
10.	Coordination and Mobility	253
10.1	Introduction	253
10.2	Mobility Issues	255
10.3	Coordination Constructs	263
10.4	Conclusions	272
11.	Coordination and Security on the Internet	274
11.1	Introduction	274
11.2	A Reference Architecture for Secure Coordination	275
11.3	Security Policies	279
11.4	Cryptographic Protocols in Coordination Models	288
11.5	Security in Existing Coordination Systems	291
11.6	Conclusions	297
12.	Scalability in Linda-like Coordination Systems	299
12.1	Introduction	299
12.2	Domain Awareness	301
12.3	Location and Distance Awareness	306
12.4	Fluctuation Awareness	312
12.5	Failure Awareness	315
12.6	Conclusions	318
Part V.	Applications of Coordination Technology
	Introduction	323
13.	Agent-Oriented Software Engineering for Internet Applications	326
13.1	Introduction	326
13.2	Engineering Multi-Agent Systems on the Internet	328
13.3	Software Engineering Methodologies for MAS	333
13.4	Exploiting a Coordination Model	339
13.5	Toward a Coordination-oriented Methodology	343
13.6	Conclusions and Future Work	345
14.	Reusable Patterns for Agent Coordination	347
14.1	Software Patterns	348
14.2	Global Forces of Coordination	350
14.3	Blackboard Pattern	354
14.4	Meeting Pattern	357
14.5	Market Maker Pattern	361
14.6	Master-Slave Pattern	363
14.7	Negotiating Agents Pattern	365
14.8	Summary	368
15.	Inter-Organizational Workflows for Enterprise Coordination	369
15.1	Inter-Organizational Coordination	369
15.2	Overview of Main Concepts of Workflow	373
15.3	Inter-Organizational Workflow Requirements: A Framework for Studying IOW	380
15.4	Two Comprehensive Approaches for IOW	387
15.5	Conclusions	397
16.	Constraints Solving as the Coordination of Inference Engines	399
16.1	A Generic Approach to Coordination-based Constraint Solving	399
16.2	A Solver Cooperation Language	406
16.3	Design of a Constraint Solver	414
16.4	Conclusion	419
Part VI.	Visions
	Introduction	423
17.	A Market-Based Model for Resource Allocation in Agent Systems	426
17.1	Introduction	426
17.2	Markets	427
17.3	Secure Transactions	428
17.4	Allocation Mechanism	431
17.5	Simulation	435
17.6	Related Work	440
17.7	Conclusions	441
18.	Coordination and Control in Computational Ecosystems: A Vision of the Future	443
18.1	Introduction	443
18.2	Towards Computational Ecosystems	444
18.3	Smart E-Services to Achieve Customer Satisfaction	446
18.4	Coordination and Control in Ecosystems	454
18.5	Methodological Issues and the Engineering of Ecosystems	454
18.6	ORA: Merging of the Real and Virtual	458
18.7	SOLACE: A Layered ORA Architecture	465
18.8	Conclusions	469
	References	471
	About the Authors	509
	List of Contributors	519