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Conceptual Modeling for Multiagent Systems: Applying Interaction-Oriented Programming?

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Conceptual Modeling

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1565))

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Abstract

Multiagent systems (MAS) are an important paradigm for building complex systems, especially cooperative information systems. Despite much interest in MAS construction, there has not been sufficient progress on the corresponding conceptual modeling representations and techniques. We believe that further extensions to conceptual modeling to include aspects of actions and organizations will be essential for MAS development. These goals are broader than conceptual modeling is traditionally understood, but are essential to deal with the interactive and dynamic aspects of modern applications. We describe an approach termed interaction-oriented programming, which incorporates functionality geared toward coordination, commitment management, and collaboration. This functionality is naturally thought of as providing a conceptual metamodel for describing MAS. We suggest some preliminary methodologies pertaining to the design of coordination and commitment requirements.

I am indebted to Peter Chen and Leah Wong for giving me an opportunity to present these results. I have benefited from discussions with several people, especially Manny Aparicio, Michael Huhns, Anuj Jain, and Peter Wegner. I also benefited from careful comments by an anonymous reviewer.

Supported by the NCSU College of Engineering, the National Science Foundation under grants IRI-9529179 and IRI-9624425 (Career Award), and IBM corporation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7534, USA

    Munindar P. Singh

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  1. Munindar P. Singh
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Louisiana State University, 298 Coates Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA

    Peter P. Chen

  2. Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC), Avenue Bernard Hirsch, BR 105, F-95021, Cergy, France

    Jacky Akoka

  3. Department of Compyter Science, University of Tampere, P.O. Box 567, FIN-33401, Tampere, Finland

    Hannu Kangassalu

  4. Department of Computer Science, Brandenburg University of Technology, P.O. Box 10 13 44, D-03013, Cottbus, Germany

    Bernhard Thalheim

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Singh, M.P. (1999). Conceptual Modeling for Multiagent Systems: Applying Interaction-Oriented Programming?. In: Goos, G., et al. Conceptual Modeling. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1565. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48854-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48854-5_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-65926-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48854-5

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