Programming dynamics of multi-agent systems

Abstract

Dynamics are one of the most important properties of multi-agent systems (MAS), which often operate in open environment and with dynamically changing requirements. This paper firstly gives a comprehensive view of the dynamics in MAS based on "where" and "what" aspects of change and discusses the software engineering issues of engineering such dynamics. To solve related issues, we propose an organization-based programming approach that provides programming abstraction and mechanisms to describe and manage dynamics of MAS. An organization-based language for programming dynamics (OBLPD) of MAS is defined. The syntax of OBLPD is defined and its semantics are informally explained with a case study. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.