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Programming Multi-Agent Systems in AgentSpeak using Jason

Rafael H. Bordini (Author), Jomi Fred Hübner (Author), Michael Wooldridge (Author)

9780470029008, Wiley

Hardback, published 5 October 2007

304 pages
25.4 x 17.5 x 2.2 cm, 0.68 kg

"This essential guide to ArgentSpeak and Jason will be invaluable to senior undergraduate and post-graduate students." (Zentralblatt Math 1132, August 2008)

Jason is an Open Source interpreter for an extended version of AgentSpeak – a logic-based agent-oriented programming language – written in Java™. It enables users to build complex multi-agent systems that are capable of operating in environments previously considered too unpredictable for computers to handle. Jason is easily customisable and is suitable for the implementation of reactive planning systems according to the Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) architecture.

Programming Multi-Agent Systems in AgentSpeak using Jason provides a brief introduction to multi-agent systems and the BDI agent architecture on which AgentSpeak is based. The authors explain Jason’s AgentSpeak variant and provide a comprehensive, practical guide to using Jason to program multi-agent systems. Some of the examples include diagrams generated using an agent-oriented software engineering methodology particularly suited for implementation using BDI-based programming languages. The authors also give guidance on good programming style with AgentSpeak.

Programming Multi-Agent Systems in AgentSpeak using Jason

  • Describes and explains in detail the AgentSpeak extension interpreted by Jason and shows how to create multi-agent systems using the Jason platform.
  • Reinforces learning with examples, problems, and illustrations.
  • Includes two case studies which demonstrate the use of Jason in practice.
  • Features an accompanying website that provides further learning resources including sample code, exercises, and slides

This essential guide to AgentSpeak and Jason will be invaluable to senior undergraduate and postgraduate students studying multi-agent systems. The book will also be of interest to software engineers, designers, developers, and programmers interested in multi-agent systems.

Preface xi

Acknowledgements xvii

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Autonomous Agents 1

1.2 Characteristics of Agents 2

1.3 Multi-Agent Systems 5

1.4 Hello World! 7

2 The BDI Agent Model 15

2.1 Agent-Oriented Programming 15

2.2 Practical Reasoning 17

2.3 A Computational Model of BDI Practical Reasoning 20

2.4 The Procedural Reasoning System 22

2.5 Agent Communication 25

3 The Jason Agent Programming Language 31

3.1 Beliefs 32

3.2 Goals 40

3.3 Plans 41

3.4 Example: A Complete Agent Program 58

3.5 Exercises 65

4 Jason Interpreter 67

4.1 The Reasoning Cycle 67

4.2 Plan Failure 86

4.3 Interpreter Configuration and Execution Modes 93

4.4 Pre-Defined Plan Annotations 97

4.5 Exercises 98

5 Environments 101

5.1 Support for Defining Simulated Environments 102

5.2 Example: Running a System of Multiple Situated Agents 109

5.3 Exercises 114

6 Communication and Interaction 117

6.1 Available Performatives 118

6.2 Informal Semantics of Receiving Messages 119

6.3 Example: Contract Net Protocol 130

6.4 Exercises 135

7 User-Defined Components 139

7.1 Defining New Internal Actions 140

7.2 Customising the Agent Class 144

7.3 Customising the Overall Architecture 151

7.4 Customising the Belief Base 155

7.5 Pre-Processing Directives 160

7.6 Exercises 162

8 Advanced Goal-Based Programming 165

8.1 BDI Programming 166

8.2 Declarative (Achievement) Goal Patterns 169

8.3 Commitment Strategy Patterns 172

8.4 Other Useful Patterns 175

8.5 Pre-Processing Directives for Plan Patterns 176

9 Case Studies 179

9.1 Case Study I: Gold Miners 180

9.2 Case Study II: Electronic Bookstore 194

10 Formal Semantics 201

10.1 Semantic Rules 207

10.2 Semantics of Message Exchangein a Multi-Agent System 212

10.3 Semantic Rules for Receiving Messages 215

10.4 Semantics of the BDI Modalities for AgentSpeak 221

11 Conclusions 225

11.1 Jason and Agent-Oriented Programming 225

11.2 Ongoing Work and Related Research 227

11.3 General Advice on Programming Style and Practice 230

Appendix: Reference Guide 235

A. 1 EBNF for the Agent Language 235

A. 2 EBNF for the Multi-Agent Systems Language 236

A. 3 Standard Internal Actions 237

A. 4 Pre-Defined Annotations 255

A. 5 Pre-Processing Directives 256

A. 6 Interpreter Configuration 258

References 261

Index 269

Subject Areas: Electronics & communications engineering [TJ]
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