User Guides

From Agent Factory

1 Getting Started
2 Agent Programming Languages / Architectures
3 Platform Services
4 Advanced Topics
- 4.1 Customising the Run-Time Environment
- 4.2 Creating Development Kits
5 Agent Factory Javadoc

Getting Started

Agent Factory is a complex framework that has various layers, many of which it is not necessary to understand if you want to use it to write a simple multi-agent system. Here, we identify the main guides that you will need to do this, and later list some of the guides that deal with lower level features of the framework.

The first decision to make is: do you want to learn about Agent Factory Standard Edition (AFSE), or Agent Factory Micro Edition (AFME).

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Installing AFSE

Installation guides for Agent Factory are currently available:

To install AFSE on windows, click here
Agent Factory Eclipse Plugin Guide
Netbeans Plugin Guide (note that the NetBeans plugins is no longer maintained or supported)

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Getting Started with AFSE

If you want to use AFSE, the version of Agent Factory for devices that are capable of running J2SE, you should read one of the following guides

AF-AgentSpeak: Introduction to AgentSpeak for Agent Factory
AFAPL2: Introduction to AFAPL2

Both of these guides describe agent programming languages that have been developed for AFSE. AF-AgentSpeak is the more recent language, and it leverages some of the new features provided with AFSE (specifically, the Common Language Framework), as such we recommend that you read about this language first.

GettingStarted: New version of the getting started manual (work under progress)

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Getting Started with AFME

If you want to use AFME, the version of Agent Factory for devices that support on J2ME, you should read the following guides:

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Agent Programming Languages / Architectures

Currently, four languages/architectures have been developed for use with the Agent Factory framework. Programming guides for each of these languages can be accessed via that links below:

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Platform Services

EIS Guide
SoSAA Framework
Local Message Transport Service: A intra-platform agent communication channel
HTTP Message Transport Service: FIPA Specified HTTP-based agent communication channel

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Advanced Topics

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Customising the Run-Time Environment

The Run-Time Environment sits at the core of the Agent Factory Framework. It provides the basic standards compliant machinery that is necessary to deploy a multi-agent system.

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Creating Development Kits

Development Kits are suites of tools that are formed around a given agent architecture / interpreter in order to provide support for the development of agents using that architecture / interpreter. Agent Factory includes a number of generic tools that can be used to simplify the task of constructing development kits. The guides below detail how to use some of these common tools.