Logic-Based Specification Languages for Intelligent Software Agents

TL;DR

This paper surveys six logic-based executable languages for modeling and prototyping multiagent systems, highlighting their foundations, examples, and advantages within the context of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison and analysis of six logic-based agent specification languages, supporting their integration into the ARPEGGIO framework.

Findings

Six logic-based languages analyzed and compared.

Logic foundations and usage examples provided.

Advantages of logic-based languages in MAS modeling discussed.

Abstract

The research field of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) aims to find abstractions, languages, methodologies and toolkits for modeling, verifying, validating and prototyping complex applications conceptualized as Multiagent Systems (MASs). A very lively research sub-field studies how formal methods can be used for AOSE. This paper presents a detailed survey of six logic-based executable agent specification languages that have been chosen for their potential to be integrated in our ARPEGGIO project, an open framework for specifying and prototyping a MAS. The six languages are ConGoLog, Agent-0, the IMPACT agent programming language, DyLog, Concurrent METATEM and Ehhf. For each executable language, the logic foundations are described and an example of use is shown. A comparison of the six languages and a survey of similar approaches complete the paper, together with considerations of the advantages of using logic-based languages in MAS modeling and prototyping.