Exception Handling in Agent Systems

A critical challenge to creating effective agent-based systems is allowing them to operate effectively when the operating environment is complex, dynamic, and error-prone. In this paper we will review the limitations of current “agent-local” approaches to exception handling in agent systems, and propose an alternative approach based on a shared exception handling service that is “plugged”, with little or no customization, into existing agent systems. This service can be viewed as a kind of “coordination doctorî; it knows about the different ways multi-agent systems can get “sick”, actively looks system-wide for symptoms of such ìillnessesî, and prescribes specific interventions instantiated for this particular context from a body of general treatment procedures. Agents need only implement their normative behavior plus a minimal set of interfaces. We claim that this approach offers simplified agent development as well as more effective and easier to modify exception ha...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1999
• Where: AGENTS
• Authors: Mark Klein, Chrysanthos Dellarocas
• Keywords: Agent Systems, AGENTS 1999, Effective Agent-based Systems, Exception Handling, Security Privacy