Application layer

The application layer is the top layer in the DIET Agents architecture. The distribution of the DIET Agents platform contains a few small sample applications to demonstrate features of the platform.

The application layer includes:

• Sample applications that demonstrate the core layer DIET functionality:
  • helloworld - A minimal DIET application, with "Hello World!" functionality.
  • migrate - Demonstrates agent migration within a VM and between VMs.
  • sorting - Bottom-up self-organisation demonstrating agent connections, messaging and adaptation to overload.

• Sample applications that demonstrate the general infrastructure of the ARC layer:
  • helloworldjob - Demonstrates how "Hello World!" functionality can be achieved using the job instrastructure provided in the ARC layer.
  • job - Demonstrates how to combine simple re-usable jobs into more complex behaviours.
  • lookup - A more complicated example of the use of jobs.
  • schedule - Demonstrates the scheduling functionality provided by the ARC layer.
  • primes - Demonstrates the combined use of scheduling and communication contexts.
  • zombies - Demonstrates the "external control" of agents, using the generic ARC functionality.

• Sample applications that demonstrate specific functionality provided by the ARC layer:
  • priority - Shows how prioritised message handling can be achieved using a pluggable event manager from the ARC layer.
  • mirror - A basic example of using the Mirror agent for remote communication.
  • running - Another demonstration of the use of Mirror agents. Here agents compete on a virtual running track.
  • chat, channelchat and mirrorchat - Three different implementations of a chat application, respectively using only local communication, using message channels for remote communication and using Mirror agents.
  • persistentsorting - Shows how agents can be stored to file. It uses an agent visitor to do so.
  • resource - Demonstrates how resource-accounting can be used to control agent activities.

The sorting application, visualised using Elvis (click image to enlarge)