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Prometheus Research Directions

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Agent-Oriented Software Engineering

Abstract

Prometheus is a well-established and widely used methodology. In this chapter, we briefly review the methodology and then discuss a number of active research directions. The key research directions that we discuss are: automated testing of agent systems, including test coverage; development of agent systems that are structured as teams , and of open agent systems that operate within Electronic Institutions; and the design and representation of agent interaction. We also briefly present the Prometheus Design Tool (PDT) and conclude with a brief look at other areas for future work.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The diagram also shows data, actions, and percepts.

  2. 2.

    An additional, nonessential, phase that we discuss below is assessing the quality of a collection of test cases, that is, coverage analysis.

  3. 3.

    www.aosgrp.com.

  4. 4.

    teamcore.usc.edu/doc/Machinetta.

  5. 5.

    www.intendico.com/gorite.

  6. 6.

    There are also certain types of agent systems where interaction is realized not by messages, but through changes to the environment (“stigmergy”), such as depositing pheromones to indicate paths.

  7. 7.

    It is fairly easy to extend AUML to do this, for instance, by depicting the environment as an additional agent.

  8. 8.

    www.eclipse.org.

  9. 9.

    www.aosgrp.com.

  10. 10.

    www.intendico.com/gorite.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

    Lin Padgham & John Thangarajah

  2. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Michael Winikoff

Authors
  1. Lin Padgham
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  2. John Thangarajah
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  3. Michael Winikoff
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Correspondence to Lin Padgham .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. IBM Haifa Research Laboratory, Haifa, Israel

    Onn Shehory

  2. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    Arnon Sturm

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Padgham, L., Thangarajah, J., Winikoff, M. (2014). Prometheus Research Directions. In: Shehory, O., Sturm, A. (eds) Agent-Oriented Software Engineering. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54432-3_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54432-3_8

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