Abstract
The rapid evolution of Internet has opened a new era in the distributed systems scenery: the bigger part of the information systems currently developed is focused in Web applications. Typically, the information resources in Web systems are dynamic, distributed, and heterogeneous. Since these computing environments are opened, information resources can be connected or disconnected at any time. This ubiquity of Web and its distributed and interconnected characteristics represent a natural field for multiagent systems (MAS), spreading this kind of application. Software agents can dynamically discover, orchestrate, and compose services, check activities, run business processes, and integrate heterogeneous applications.
FAQs
AI
What explains the increased demand for agent-based applications in enterprises?
The paper reveals that businesses are seeking strategic advantages through dynamic, adaptable, and interoperable distributed systems, driving demand for agent-based applications. Examples include e-commerce and B2B, which benefit from enhanced coordination and information management.
How do multiagent systems improve interoperability among heterogeneous applications?
The research demonstrates that multiagent systems facilitate knowledge-based interoperability by dynamically composing and integrating services across various platforms. This approach greatly enhances information integration and supports diverse enterprise information systems.
What are the fundamental properties of software agents in multiagent systems?
The classification identifies autonomy, interaction, and adaptation as fundamental properties of software agents, emphasizing their independent functioning. For instance, agents must adapt their behavior based on environmental changes, influencing their decision-making processes.
When were key standards for Web services architecture first published?
The WSA (Web Services Architecture) was first published as a W3C Working Draft on August 8, 2003, with subsequent versions following. These standards are pivotal for integrating emergent technologies with multiagent systems.
How does agent technology relate to the semantic Web initiatives?
The study notes a considerable research effort to unify agent technologies with semantic Web frameworks for effective service coordination and knowledge representation. This integration aims to enable reusable high-level procedures within agent systems.
References (24)
- ADAM, E., & MANDIAU, R. (2004). Design of a MAS into a human organization: Application to an information multiagent system. In Proceedings of the 5 th Agent-Oriented Information Systems (pp. 21-35), Chicago, IL, USA. Lectures in Artificial Intelligence LNAI 3030. Springer Verlag BARU, C., GUPTA, A., LUDAESCHER, B., MARCIANO, R., PAPAKONSTANTINOU, Y., & VELIKHOV, P. (1999). XML-based information mediation with MIX. In Demo Ses- sion, ACM-SIGMOD'99, Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved from http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/baru99xmlbased.html BELLIFEMINE, F., POGGI, A., & RIMASSA, G. (2001). JADE: A FIPA2000 compliant agent development environ- ment. In Proceedings of the Fifth international Conference on Autonomous Agents (AGENTS '01) (pp. 216-217). New York, NY: ACM Press..
- BERNERS-LEE, T. (1994). World wide Web standards and guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.w3.org/Con- sortium/ BOOCH, G., RUMBAUGH, J., & JACOBSON, I. (2000). UML -Guia do Usuário. Editora Campus, São Paulo. BOOTH, D., CHAMPION, M., FERRIS, C., McCABE F., NEWCOMER, E., & ORCHARD, D. (Eds.). (2003). Web services architecture. W3C Working Draft August 2003. Retrieved from http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/WD-ws-arch- 20030514/ BOUGHACI, D., & DRIAS, H. (2005). An agent-based approach using the ebXML specifications for e-business. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on In- formation Technology: Coding and Computing (ITCC'05) -Volume II (pp. 766-767).
- CORRADI, A., CREMONINI, M., & STEFANELLI C. (1998). Melding abstractions with mobile agents. In Proceed- ings of the Cooperative Information Agents II CIA '1998. Paris, France, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence LNAI (pp. 37-51). Springer-Verlag.
- COWAN, D., & GRISS, M. (2002). Making software agent technology available to enterprise applications. Technical Report HP Labs. Retrieved fromk http://www.hpl.hp.com/ techreports/2002/HPL-2002-211.html CURRY, E., CHAMBERS, D., & LYONS, G. (2003). A JMS message transport protocol for the JADE platform. In Proceedings of the IEEE/WIC International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (IAT'03) (pp. 396-405).
- DECKER, S., MELNIK, S., HARMELEN, F. V., FENSEL D., KLEIN M., BROEKSTRA, J., ERDMANN, M., & HOR- ROCKS, I. (2000). The semantic Web: The roles of XML and RDF. IEEE Internet Computing , 4(5), 63-73.
- FERBER, J. (2000). Multiagent systems: An introduction to distributed artificial intelligence. Addison Wesley.
- FOX, M. S., BARBUCEANU, M., & TEIGEN, R. (2001). Agent-oriented supply-chain management. International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 12(2/3), 165- 188. GARCIA, A. F. (2005). Call for papers of the International Journal of Computer Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE 2005). Special issue on software engineering for multiagent systems. Retrieved from http://www.crlpublish- ing.co.uk/csse.htm GARCIA A. F., SILVA, V. T., & LUCENA, C. J. P. (2001). Engineering multiagent object-oriented software with aspect-oriented programming. Software: Practice & Experience. Elsevier.
- GREENWOOD, D. (2005) JADE Web service integration gatway (WSIG). JADE AAMAS 2005 Workshop. Retrieved from jade.tilab.com/doc/tutorials/JADE_WSIG_Guide. pdf GRISS, M. L.; & KESSLER, R. R. (2003). Achieving the promise of reuse with agent component. In Proceedings of the Software Engineering for Large-Scale MultiAgent Systems (pp.139-147). Springer Verlag.
- HELSINGER, A., LAZARUS, R., WRIGHT, W., & ZINKY, J. (2003). Tools and techniques for performance measure- ment of large distributed multiagent systems. AAMAS'03. Melbourne, Australia.
- JENNINGS, N. R., & WOOLDRIDGE M. J. (1996). Ap- plying agent technology. Int. Journal of Applied Artificial Intelligence, 9(4), 351-369.
- JENSEN, D., ATIGHETCHI, M., VINCENT, R., & LESSER, V. (1999). Learning quantitative knowledge for multiagent coordination. In Proceedings of the 16th National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-99), American Association for Artificial Intelligence (pp. 24-31).
- KENDALL, E., KRISHNA, P., PATHAK, C., & SURESH C. (1999). A framework for agent systems. In M. Fayadd et al. (Eds.), Implementing applications frameworks -Object- oriented framewoks at work. John Wiley & Soons.
- KLUSCH, M. (Ed.). (1999). Intelligent information agents: Agent-based information discovery and management on the Internet. Berlin: Springer Verlag.
- Levine, D., & Dale, J. (2002). FIPA Services work plan no. f-in-00050. Retrieved from http://www.fipa.org/docs/input/f- in-00050/f-in-00050.html.
- LIM, G. G., PARK, S. H., & KIM J. (2005). B-cart based agent system for B2B EC. In Proceedings of the Third Asian Simulation Conference, AsianSim 2004 (pp. 45-57). Jeju Is- land, Korea, LNCS Volume 3398. Berlin: Springer Verlag.
- MCGUINNESS, D. L., & SILVA, P. P. (2004). Explaining answers from the semantic Web: The inference Web approach.
- In K.Sycara & J.Mylopoulos (Eds.), Web semantics: Science, services and agents on the World Wide Web. International Semantic Web Conference 2003, 1(4), 397-413..
- MW4SOC. (2006). Middleware for service-oriented com- puting. Workshop of the 7th International Middleware Conference 2006. Retrieved from http://www.dedisys. org/mw4soc/ NAGAPPAN, R., SKOCZYLAS, R., & SRIGANESH, R. P. (2003). Developing Java Web services. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.
- NODINE, M., PERRY, B., & UNRUH, A. (1998). Experi- ence with the info-sleuth agent architecture. In Proceedings of the 15th National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, AAAI-98, Workshop on Software Tools for Developing Agents (pp. 47-60).
- ODELL, J. (2005). Agent-based process management for SOA and WS applications. OMG Workshop on MDA, SOA and Web Services, Orlando, FL USA. Retrieved from http://www. omg.org/news/meetings/mda-soa-ws/program.pdf OMG -OBJECT MANAGEMENT GROUP. (2000). Agent platform special interest group. Agent Technology -Green Paper, version 1.0.
- OVEREINDER, B. J., & BRAZIER, F. (2004). Scalable middleware environment for agent-based Internet applica- tions. Data Knowledge Engineering, 41(2-3), 229-245.
- RICHARDS, D., SABOU, M., SPLUNTER, S., & BRA- ZIER, F. (2003). Artificial intelligence: A promised land for Web services. In Proceedings of the 8thAustralian and New Zealand Intelligent Information Systems Conference (ANZIIS2003), Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. RIMMEL, G., CLEMENT, M., & RUNTE, M. (1999). Intelligent software agents: Implications for marketing in e-commerce. Göteborg, Department of Business Admin- istration.
- SYCARA, K., PAOLUCCI, M., ANKOLEKAR, A., & SRINIVASAN, N. (2003). Automated discovery, interaction and composition of semantic Web services. Journal of Web Semantics, 1(1), 27-46.
- WOOLDRIDGE, M., JENNINGS, N., & KINNY, D. (1999). The Gaia methodology for agent-oriented analysis and design. In Proceedings of the 3rd Int. Conference on Autonomous Agents, Seatle, WA (pp. 27-42).