Contextualization of Behavioral Substitutability and Refinement for Role Components in MAS

In this paper we focus on a new approach for the definition of context-based behavioural substitutability and refinement of roles in MAS, and provide a formal framework for modeling roles together with their composition. First, we introduce two flexible roles compatibility relations depending on the context of use (environment). The proposed compatibility relations take into account the property preservation such as the completion and the proper termination of roles. Then, our formal framework is enhanced with the definition of two flexible behavioral subtyping relations related to the principle of substitutability. We show the existing link between compatibility and substitutability of roles, and namely the preservation of the proposed compatibility relations by substitutability. Finally, we study the action as well as the state-based refinements of roles and investigate the links between the substitutability and the refinements of roles. We show that the proposed roles behavioural substitutability relations are preserved under the roles refinement.