Abstract
In order to increase the number of agent applications in practical use, it is a given that we need to incease the rate at which problems are conceptualized and specified using MAS-based approaches. However, we must also address two other problems: moving from specification to actual implemented systems without programming from scratch, and the training of people to carry out such work. In this paper we examine four desiderata for practical development tools – a focus on programming as opposed to architecture; programming at the multi-agent level; ”value-added” architectures; support for persistent, flexible, robust action. We also examine observed training shortfalls of graduate students attempting to implement technically complex multi-agent applications. These desiderata and observations are made in the context of DECAF, an MAS development toolkit developed at the University of Delaware and based on early versions of RETSINA.
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Decker, K. (2004). A Vision for Multi-agent Systems Programming. In: Dastani, M.M., Dix, J., El Fallah-Seghrouchni, A. (eds) Programming Multi-Agent Systems. ProMAS 2003. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 3067. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-25936-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-25936-7_1
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