Comprehending agent software

ABSTRACT

Software comprehension (understanding software structure and behavior) is essential for developing, maintaining, and improving software. This is particularly true of agent-based systems, in which the actions of autonomous agents are affected by numerous factors, such as events in a dynamic environment, local uncertain beliefs, and intentions of other agents. Existing comprehension tools are not suited to such large, concurrent software and do not leverage concepts of the agent-oriented paradigm to aid the user in understanding the software's behavior. To address the software comprehension of agent-based systems, this research proposes a method and accompanying tool that automates some of the manual tasks performed by the human user during software comprehension, such as explanation generation and knowledge verification.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.5 Testing and Debugging

General Terms:
Design, Documentation, Experimentation, Human Factors, Verification

Keywords:
agent-oriented software engineering, debugging, maintenance, reverse engineering, software comprehension, tracer