A Novel Architecture Description Language for Multi-agent Systems Base on π-net

To narrow the gap between multi-agent formal modeling and multi-agent practical systems, multi-agent systems (MAS) are studied from the point of view of software architecture. As the existing architecture description languages (ADLs) are not suitable for describing the characteristics of architecture and behaviors of MAS, a novel architecture description language for MAS (π-net ADL) rooted in the Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) model is proposed, which adopts two complementary formalisms—Agent-Oriented Petri nets (AOPN) and π-calculus as a formal theory basis. AOPN are used to visualize the static architecture and model the behaviors of MAS while π-calculus is used to represent the dynamic or evolving architecture of MAS. These two formal methods are effectively integrated in π-net ADL. Furthermore, π-net ADL can visually and intuitively depict a formal framework for MAS from the agent level and society level, and stress the description of dynamic MAS architecture. Most importantly, π-net ADL supports formal analysis of MAS model properties in a variety of well-established techniques—simulation, detection, etc. To illustrate the favorable modeling capability of π-net ADL, an example of multi-agent systems in electronic commerce is provided. Finally, by the use of the existing Petri nets and π-calculus tools, the MAS model and some of its key behaviors properties are analyzed and verified. ACM Classification: D.2.11 (Software Architectures), D.2.2 (Design Tools and Techniques), I.2.11 (Distributed Artificial Intelligence) ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: 086-029-86382043 Email address: zhenhua [email protected] (Zhenhua Yu1).