TAMING
Agent
Heterogeneous
ARCHITECTURES
Using aspect-oriented techniques to construct
high-quality multi-agent systems.
The recent advances in network-based software applications
and the advent of ubiquitous computing are pushing
us inevitably toward a world of
autonomous software architectures. This trend
has spurred the revitalization of agent technology as a complement to the object paradigm
for a variety of modern application domains,
including e-commerce, software development environments, and
personal assistants. There is explicit evidence indicating the penetration of software agents is also high for systems used in military and government contexts [ 2, 8]. Agents, like objects, provide services to their clients, but
are recognizably different from objects as seen from an architectural point of
view [ 3, 5, 8]. Unlike objects, an agent is an autonomous entity that takes the
initiative to achieve system goals and represent software users [ 2, 3].
BY ALESSANDRO GARCIA
AND CARLOS LUCENA