面向Agent程序设计的研究

面向Agent程序设计(agent-oriented programming,简称AOP)基于多Agent系统的抽象和思想、借助于Agent理论和技术来支持软件系统的构造与实现,其程序设计思想、软件模型、基础理论和语言设施有别于现有主流程序设计技术,如OOP,代表了一种新颖的程序设计范型.由于多Agent系统被视为支持开放环境下复杂软件系统开发的一种新颖、有效的技术手段,因而近年来AOP受到人工智能、软件工程和分布计算等领域研究学者和工程实践人员的高度关注,并在过去20年取得了重要进展.但是,无论在应对复杂多Agent系统开发方面,还是在大规模工业化应用等方面,AOP的研究与实践都面临着严峻的挑战.作为一种程序设计范型,AOP研究需要在交叉其他学科知识(如人工智能)的基础上,充分借鉴软件工程以及已有程序设计范型的原理、原则和成功实践,从而推动技术走向成熟并为广大工程实践人员所接受.通过对AOP研究历程的系统介绍,从软件工程的视点考虑MAS程序设计的不同层次,综述AOP在程序设计抽象与模型、机制与理论、语言与设施和支撑平台这4个方面的研究成果,展示不同时期AOP研究关注点的变化以及发展趋势,分析当前AOP研究与实践存在的问题和面临的挑战,并展望进一步的研究.

Research on Agent-Oriented Programming

Agent-Oriented programming (AOP) is inspired from the concepts and metaphors of multi-agent systems and borrows agent theory and technology to construct software systems. It represents a novel programming paradigm because its method, model, theory, and language are actually different from ones of existing mainstream programming technologies like OOP. As multi-agent system is considered as an effective technology to deal with the development of complex systems in open environment, AOP attracts many researchers and practitioners in the literatures of AI, software engineering and distributed computing. Significant progress has been made in the past twenty years. However, there are still great challenges to widely apply such a paradigm to support the development of complex systems in industry. In addition to using AI as basis, AOP should consider and borrow successful principles and practices of software engineering, especially existing programming paradigms, to promote its wide acceptance by software engineering practitioners. The aim of this paper is to give a systemic introduction of the research roadmap of AOP, investigate its state-of-the-art from a software engineering viewpoint by considering different programming levels of MAS and four research constituents of programming paradigms, including abstraction and model, mechanism and theory, language construct, and facility, supported platform. The survey intends to show the different research focuses and their changes in various stages. Moreover, the study identifies a number of issues and challenges in existing researches and prospect its future researches.