Survey and Evaluation of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering Main Approaches

AbstractAgent-oriented software engineering (AOSE) is motivated by the need to develop software applications that perform in increasingly complex, distributed, open, dynamic and unpredictable environments. Two major fields of research that contribute to achievements towards AOSE are the software engineering and the agent-based computing fields. Even though there is no concrete relation between these two fields in the past years, research communities from software engineering and agent-based computing interact seeking an appropriate methodology and modelling technique for incorporating software agents into the software development process. This article classifies and evaluates the main approaches towards AOSE methodologies and modelling techniques. It aims to clarify different assumptions and attitudes concerning the modelling of agent-based systems and further establish a set of criteria for researchers and practitioners to evaluate existing and ongoing efforts.

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