SINE: support for single function agents

1.0 Introduction Our premise is that Design Expert Systems can be built using many small, cooperating, limited function expert systems, called Single Function Agents (SiFAs). We expect to be able to investigate and discover specific design-related primitive problem-solving and interaction patterns. The approach should also lead to a deeper understanding of the types of knowledge involved. In contrast to other multi-agent approaches, which are based on powerful agents with relatively unconstrained functionality and knowledge, we try to start with elementary components and add structure and functionality as necessary.