Skip to main content
Log in

Abstract

The specification of multi-agent organisations is typically based on high-level modelling languages so as to simplify the task of software designers. Interpreting such high-level specifications as part of the organisation management infrastructure (OMI) is a difficult and cumbersome task. Simpler and more efficient tools need to be used for this. Based on primitives such as norms and obligations, we introduce in this paper a Normative Programming Language (NPL)—a language dedicated to the development of normative programs. We present the interpreter for such a language and show how it can be used within an organisation management infrastructure. While designers and agents can still use a high-level organisational modelling language to specify and reason about the multi-agent organisation, the OMI interprets a simpler language. This is possible because the high-level specifications can be automatically translated into the simpler (normative) language. Our approach was used to develop an improved OMI for the Moise framework, as described in this paper. We also show how Moise’s organisation modelling language (with primitives such as roles, groups, and goals) can be translated into NPL programs. Finally, we briefly describe how this all has been implemented on top of ORA4MAS, the distributed artifact-based organisation management infrastructure for Moise.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bordini, R.H., Hübner, J.F., Wooldrige, M.: Programming Multi-Agent Systems in AgentSpeak Using Jason. Wiley Series in Agent Technology. Wiley, New York (2007). http://jason.sf.net/jBook. doi:10.1002/9780470061848

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  2. Criado, N., Julian, V., Botti, V., Argente, E.: A norm-based organization management system. In: Hübner, J.F., Matson, E., Boissier, O., Dignum, V. (eds.) Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Agent Systems IV (COIN 2009), LNAI, vol. 5428, pp. 19–35. Springer (2009)

  3. Dignum, V. (ed.): Handbook of Research on Multi-agent Systems: Semantics and Dynamics of Organizational Models. Information Science Reference (2009)

  4. Esteva, M., de la Cruz, D., Sierra, C.: ISLANDER: an electronic institutions editor. In: Castelfranchi, C., Johnson, W.L. (eds.) Proceedings of the First International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and MultiAgent Systems (AAMAS 2002), LNAI 1191, pp. 1045–1052. Springer (2002)

  5. Esteva, M., Rodríguez-Aguilar, J.A., Rosell, B., Arcos, J.L.: AMELI: an agent-based middleware for electronic institutions. In: Jennings, N.R., Sierra, C., Sonenberg, L., Tambe, M. (eds.) Proceedings of the Third International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (AAMAS’2004), pp. 236–243. ACM, New York (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Ferber, J., Gutknecht, O.: A meta-model for the analysis and design of organizations in multi-agents systems. In: Demazeau, Y. (ed.) Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems (ICMAS’98), pp. 128–135. IEEE Press (1998)

  7. Forgy, C.: Rete: a fast algorithm for the many pattern/many object pattern match problem. Artif. Intell. 19(1), 17–37 (1982)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Fornara, N., Colombetti, M.: Specifying and enforcing norms in artificial institutions. In: Omicini, A., Dunin-Keplicz, B., Padget, J. (eds.) Proceedings of the 4th European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems (EUMAS 06) (2006)

  9. García-Camino, A., Rodríguez-Aguilar, J.A., Sierra, C., Vasconcelos, W.: Constraining rule-based programming norms for electronic institutions. Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 18(1), 186–217 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Grossi, D., Aldewered, H., Dignum, F.: Ubi Lex, Ibi Poena: designing norm enforcement in e-institutions. In: Noriega, P., Vázquez-Salceda, J., Boella, G., Boissier, O., Dignum, V., Fornara, N., Matson, E., (eds.) Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Agent Systems II. LNAI, vol. 4386, pp. 101–114. Springer (2007). Revised Selected Papers

  11. Hübner, J.F., Boissier, O., Bordini, R.H.: From organisation specification to normative programming in multi-agent organisations. In: Dix, J., Governatori, G., Jamroga, W., Leite, J. (eds.) Proc. of Computational Logic in Multi- Agent Systems (CLIMA XI). LNAI, vol. 6245, pp. 117–134. Springer (2010). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14977-1_11

  12. Hübner, J.F., Boissier, O., Bordini, R.H.: A normative organisation programming language for organisation management infrastructures. In: J.P. et al. (ed.) Coordination, Organizations, Institutions and Norms in Agent Systems V. LNAI, vol. 6069, pp. 114–129. Springer (2010). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14962-7_8

  13. Hübner, J.F., Boissier, O., Kitio, R., Ricci, A.: Instrumenting multi-agent organisations with organisational artifacts and agents: “giving the organisational power back to the agents”. Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 20(3), 369–400 (2010). doi:10.1007/s10458-009-9084-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hübner, J.F., Sichman, J.S., Boissier, O.: S-MOISE+: a middleware for developing organised multi-agent systems. In: Boissier, O., Dignum, V., Matson, E., Sichman, J.S. (eds.) Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Multi-Agent Systems. LNCS, vol. 3913, pp. 64–78. Springer (2006). doi:10.1007/11775331_5

  15. Hübner, J.F., Sichman, J.S., Boissier, O.: Developing organised multi-agent systems using the MOISE+ model: programming issues at the system and agent levels. International Journal of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering 1(3–4), 370–395 (2007). doi:10.1504/IJAOSE.2007.016266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Jones, A.J.I., Sergot, M.: On the characterization of law and computer systems: the normative systems perspective. In: Deontic logic in computer science: normative system specification, pp. 275–307. Wiley, Chichester, UK (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  17. y López, F.L., Luck, M., d’Inverno, M.: Constraining autonomy through norms. In: Proceedings of the First International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, pp. 674 – 681. ACM Press (2002)

  18. Omicini, A., Ricci, A., Viroli, M.: Artifacts in the A&A meta-model for multi-agent systems. Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 17(3), 432–456 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Piunti, M., Ricci, A., Boissier, O., Hübner, J.F.: Embodying organisations in multi-agent work environments. In: Proceedings of International Joint Conferences on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technologies (WI-IAT 2009), pp. 511–518. IEEE/WIC/ACM (2009). doi:10.1109/WI-IAT.2009.204

  20. Plotkin, G.D.: A structural approach to operational semantics. Tech. rep., Computer Science Department, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (1981)

  21. Pynadath, D.V., Tambe, M.: An automated teamwork infrastructure for heterogeneous software agents and humans. Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 7(1–2), 71–100 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Ricci, A., Piunti, M., Viroli, M., Omicini, A.: Environment programming in CArtAgO. In: Bordini, R.H., Dastani, M., Dix, J., El Fallah Seghrouchni, A. (eds.) Multi-Agent Programming: Languages, Tools and Applications, chap. 8, pp. 259–288. Springer (2009)

  23. van Riemsdijk, B., Hindriks, K., Jonker, C.M., Sierhuis, M.: Formal organizational constraints: a semantic approach. In: W. van der Hoek, G.A. Kaminka, Y. Lesperance, M. Luck, S. Sen (eds.) Proc. of 9th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS 2010), pp. 823–830 (2010)

  24. da Silva, V.T.: Implementing norms that govern non-dialogical actions. In: Sichman, J., Noriega, P., Padget, J., Ossowski, S. (eds.) Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Agent Systems III (COIN 2007). LNCS, vol. 4870, pp. 232–244. Springer (2007)

  25. da Silva, V.T.: From the specification to the implementation of norms: an automatic approach to generate rules from norm to govern the behaviour of agents. Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 17(1), 113–155 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Tinnemeier, N., Dastani, M., Meyer, J.J.: Roles and norms for programming agent organizations. In: Sichman, J., Decker, K., Sierra, C., Castelfranchi, C. (eds.) Proc. of AAMAS 09, pp. 121–128 (2009)

  27. Vázquez-Salceda, J., Aldewereld, H., Dignum, F.: Norms in multiagent systems: some implementation guidelines. In: Proceedings of the Second European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems (EUMAS 2004) (2004). http://people.cs.uu.nl/dignum/papers/eumas04.PDF

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jomi F. Hübner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hübner, J.F., Boissier, O. & Bordini, R.H. A normative programming language for multi-agent organisations. Ann Math Artif Intell 62, 27–53 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10472-011-9251-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10472-011-9251-0

Keywords

Mathematics Subject Classifications (2010)

Navigation