The Formal Semantics of a Domain-Specific Modeling Language for Semantic Web Enabled Multi-Agent Systems

Abstract

Development of agent systems is without question a complex task when autonomous, reactive and proactive characteristics of agents are considered. Furthermore, internal agent behavior model and interaction within the agent organizations become even more complex and hard to implement when new requirements and interactions for new agent environments such as the Semantic Web are taken into account. We believe that the use of both domain specific modeling and a Domain-specific Modeling Language (DSML) may provide the required abstraction and support a more fruitful methodology for the development of Multi-agent Systems (MASs) especially when they are working on the Semantic Web environment. Although syntax definition based on a metamodel is an essential part of a modeling language, an additional and required part would be the determination and implementation of DSML constraints that constitute the (formal) semantics which cannot be defined solely with a metamodel. Hence, in this paper, formal semantics of a MAS DSML called Semantic Web enabled Multi-agent Systems (SEA_ML) is introduced. SEA_ML is a modeling language for agent systems that specifically takes into account the interactions of semantic web agents with semantic web services. What is more, SEA_ML also supports the modeling of semantic agents from their internals to MAS perspective. Based on the defined abstract and concrete syntax definitions, we first give the formal representation of SEA_ML's semantics and then discuss its use on MAS validation. In order to define and implement semantics of SEA_ML, we employ Alloy language which is declarative and has a strong description capability originating from both relational and first-order logic in order to easily define complex structures and behaviors of these systems. Differentiating from similar contributions of other researchers on formal semantics definition for MAS development languages, SEA_ML's semantics, presented in this paper, defines both static and dynamic aspects of the interaction between software agents and semantic web services, in addition to the definition of the semantics already required for agent internals and MAS communication. Implementation with Alloy makes definition of SEA_ML's semantics to include relations and sets with a simple notation for MAS model definitions. We discuss how the automatic analysis and hence checking of SEA_ML models can be realized with the defined semantics. Design of an agent-based electronic barter system is exemplified in order to give some flavor of the use of SEA_ML's formal semantics. Lessons learned during the development of such a MAS DSML semantics are also reported in this paper.

Development of Semantic Web-Enabled BDI Multi-Agent Systems Using SEA_ML: An Electronic Bartering Case Study

“…In this way, it is possible to reduce the delta code and gain more generation performance using the proposed methodology. We also plan to empower the current methodology by using the formal methods discussed in [74,75] for SEA_ML to validate the models and check some domain properties in the design level for the MAS.…”

Supporting the platform extensibility for the model-driven development of agent systems by the interoperability between domain-specific modeling languages of multi-agent systems

“…SEA_ML instances are given as inputs to a series of M2M and M2T transformations to achieve executable artifacts of the system-to-be-built for JADEX [32] agent platform and semantic web service description documents conforming to Web Ontology Language for Services (OWL-S) ontology [45]. It is also possible to automatically check the integrity and validity of SEA_ML models [46]. A complete discussion on SEA_ML can be found in [23].…”

“…This new language, called SEA_ML, covered an enhanced version of agent-SWS interaction viewpoint in which modeling those interactions can be elaborated as much as possible for the exact implementation of agent's service discovery, agreement and execution dynamics. We also presented the formal semantics of the language [46] and discussed how the applied methodology can pave the way of evolutionary language development for MAS DSLs [4]. Moreover, qualitative evaluation and quantitative analysis of SEA_ML have been recently performed over a multi-case study protocol [35].…”

Interoperability of MAS DSMLs via horizontal model transformations

“…SEA_ML instances are given as inputs to a series of M2M and M2T transformations to achieve executable artifacts of the system-to-be-built for JADEX agent platform and semantic web service description documents conforming to Web Ontology Language for Services (OWL-S) ontology 5 . It is also possible to automatically check the integrity and validity of SEA_ML models [26]. Complete discussion on SEA_ML can be found in [19].…”

“…This new language, called SEA_ML, covered an enhanced version of agent-SWS interaction viewpoint in which modeling those interactions can be elaborated as much as possible for the exact implementation of agent's service discovery, agreement and execution dynamics. We also presented the formal semantics of the language [26] and discussed how the applied methodology can pave the way of evolutionary language development for MAS DSLs [2]. Moreover, qualitative evaluation and quantitative analysis of SEA_ML have been recently performed over a multi-case study protocol [31].…”