Forwarded message from [m.j.wooldridge@elec.qmw.ac.uk (Mike Wooldridge)] sent originally on Wed, 1 Dec 1999 15:02:08 +0000 (GMT): : CALL FOR PAPERS : : The First International Workshop on : : AGENT-ORIENTED SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (AOSE-2000) : : June 10, 2000 - Limerick, Ireland : : To be held at the : Twenty Second International Conference on : Software Engineering (ICSE-2000) : http://www.ul.ie/~icse2000/ : : Software engineers have derived a progressively better understanding : of the characteristics of complexity in software. It is now widely : recognised that *interaction* is probably the most important single : characteristic of complex software. Software architectures that : contain many dynamically interacting components, each with their own : thread of control, and engaging in complex coordination protocols, are : typically orders of magnitude more complex to correctly and : efficiently engineer than those that simply compute a function of some : input through a single thread of control. : : Unfortunately, it turns out that many (if not most) real-world : applications have precisely these characteristics. As a consequence, a : major research topic in computer science over at least the past two : decades has been the development of tools and techniques to model, : understand, and implement systems in which interaction is the norm. : Indeed, many researchers now believe that in future, computation : itself will be understood as chiefly as a process of interaction. : : Since the 1980s, software agents and multi-agent systems have grown : into what is now one of the most active areas of research and : development activity in computing generally. There are many reasons : for the current intensity of interest, but certainly one of the most : important is that the concept of an agent as an autonomous system, : capable of interacting with other agents in order to satisy its design : objectives, is a natural one for software designers. Just as we can : understand many systems as being composed of essentially passive : objects, which have state, and upon which we can perform operations, : so we can understand many others as being made up of interacting, : semi-autonomous agents. : : This recognition has led to the growth of interest in agents as a new : paradigm for software engineering. In this workshop for ICSE2000 we : will seek to examine the credentials of agent-based approaches as a : software engineering paradigm, and to gain an insight into what : agent-oriented software engineering will look like. : : We will welcome the submission of all papers on aspects of agent : oriented software engineering, but we are particularly interested in : "viewpoint" papers, which address themselves to the following : questions: : : 1. The "OO mindset" contains about half a dozen key concepts -- : class, instance, encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and so : on. In your view, what are the key concepts in the : "agent-oriented" mindset? If you had to identify just one, then : what would it be and why? How do we identify what should and : should not be modelled/implemented as an agent? What are the key : features you look for in a problem that suggest an agent-based : solution? : : 2. Over the past few years, there has been an increasing trend in the : object-oriented community towards the development of "agent-like" : features. Examples include distributed objects (CORBA, RMI), : applets, mobile object systems, and coordination mechanisms and : languages. This trend is likely to continue at least in the short : term. Given this, how does an agent-oriented software engineering : view sit in relation to other software paradigms, in particular, : object-oriented development? What are the key attributes of : agent-oriented development that make it *unique* and : *distinctive*? : : 3. What is the impact of agent-oriented languages and tools on the : software development process? How can legacy software : architectures be integrated with agent or multi-agent oriented : applications? Which specification, design, implementation, : maintenance, or documentation systems and strategies have to be : adopted in order to deal with agent-oriented issues? : : 4. Agent-based solutions are not appropriate to all applications. : One of the keys to the success of agent-oriented software : engineering is therefore to identify the application requirements : that indicate an agent-based solution. If you have a particular : approach to agent-oriented development, then describe this : approach, and give a *short* case study of a realistic problem : that you have tackled using it. Describe the major software : engineering principles that you learnt from this experience, and : outline the software engineering issues that your experience have : raised. : : SUBMISSION DETAILS : : Those wishing to participate in the workshop should submit an original : research paper of up to 5000 words (approximately 13 pages maximum) to : the workshop chair, to arrive no later than 1 February : 2000. Electronic submission in PostScript or PDF is mandatory. The : first page should include the full name and contact details (including : email, full postal address, and telephone number) of at least one : author. : : IMPORTANT DATES : : Submissions due Feb 1 2000 : Notifications sent March 15 2000 : Workshop June 10 2000 : : ORGANISING COMMITTEE : : Paolo Ciancarini (chair) : University of Bologna, Italy : email ciancarini@cs.unibo.it : : Michael Wooldridge (co-chair) : University of Liverpool, UK : email M.J.Wooldridge@csc.liv.ac.uk : : ABOUT ICSE 2000 : : ICSE is the premier international conference on software engineering, : and was attended by 900 delegates in 1999. By holding AOSE-2000 at : ICSE, we hope to build bridges between the software engineering and : agents communities, to the benefit of both. For travel information to : Limerick, see : : http://www.ul.ie/~icse2000/travel.html : : PROGRAM COMMITTEE : : [being finalised]

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