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Middleware for Distributed Multi-agent Systems

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Architecture-Based Design of Multi-Agent Systems

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Abstract

One of the major challenges in the software development of a distributed multi-agent system is the coordination necessary to align the behavior of the agents. Since coordination determines whether agents cooperate effectively, it has a direct impact on the satisfaction of a distributed application’s functional requirements. Furthermore, since coordination is realized primarily by communication, coordination has a large impact on quality attributes such as efficiency and resource usage.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We use the term application component in its general meaning, i.e., a modular and independently describable entity that is part of an application. An AGV local virtual environment is an example of an application component.

  2. 2.

    The viewing node is the node on which an application node has requested that a view be built. The viewed nodes are the nodes that contribute to the view built on the viewing node.

  3. 3.

    The initiator node is the node on which an application node starts an interaction session using an initiator role. The participant nodes are the nodes on which a participant role is activated that participates in the interaction session.

  4. 4.

    For convenience, we use “local virtual environment” to refer AGV local virtual environment in the remainder of this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Computer Science, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celesijnenlaan 200a, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Danny Weyns

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  1. Danny Weyns
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Correspondence to Danny Weyns .

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Weyns, D. (2010). Middleware for Distributed Multi-agent Systems. In: Architecture-Based Design of Multi-Agent Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01064-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01064-4_5

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-01063-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-01064-4

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