JP2000322171A - Inter-agent message visualizing device for multi-agent system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an inter-agent message visualizing device which can visualize the transmission and reception, etc., of messages between agents by obtaining the agent name of the transmission source and transmission destination of a message when the message is transmitted and received between the agents and displaying a message icon showing the flow of the message on a display screen. SOLUTION: The agent at the transmission source of the message specifies the agent name of the transmission destination and requests a message communication part 13 to distribute the message and the message communication part 13 obtains information on the agent of the transmission destination by referring to an agent name management part 12 and transmits the message. The message transferred between this agent and an agent is visualized. A display screen 17, an agent display process part 15, and a message display process part 16 are provided and the agents in operation are displayed as agent icons on the display screen 17 to visualize them.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-agent system in which a plurality of agents exchange information distributed on a network such as the Internet by using message communication, and more particularly, to a message flow on the multi-agent system. Related to technology for visualization.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to efficiently use information distributed on a network represented by the Internet, an ACL (Agent Communication) has been used.
2. Description of the Related Art A multi-agent system is known in which information is exchanged between agents, which are autonomous processing entities disposed on a network, by using message communication using, for example, a language.

[0003] Recently, in order to build a more flexible system capable of responding to dynamic changes in a multi-agent system, each agent has to transmit so-called advertisement information for advertising its own abilities. Agent with mediation function (mediation agent)
Mediation agent technology has been proposed that transfers and mediates messages by using meta-information of what information is located and where the information is located.

[0004] Such a multi-agent system is in the field of CALS in which parts are shared between different companies, and in the field of virtual catalogs in which electronic merchandise information provided by different manufacturers can be integrated and presented. Applications to such applications are being attempted.

[0005] However, agents include mobile agents that involve the transfer of software, agents that act as agents that represent humans, and many independently moving entities that exchange information using messages. There are various types such as multi-agents that cooperate with each other, and the agent technology itself has an inexperienced aspect.

[0006] Therefore, when designing or constructing a multi-agent system, a demonstration system is separately constructed in order to explain the concept of the agent in an easy-to-understand manner. Attempts have been made to express operations and reactions performed by individual agents using images and animations.

[0007]

However, in the above-described demonstration system,
When displaying a state in which agents cooperate, it is not easy to consider the best expression method according to the agent system to be constructed.

[0008] The demonstration system tends to be unique to the multi-agent system or application to be constructed.
Every time a multi-agent system is constructed, it is necessary to consider the display method and incorporate it. Therefore, there arises a problem that the development cost and the development amount of the system increase.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an inter-agent message visualization device capable of visualizing message exchange between agents in a multi-agent system without incurring a development cost of a demonstration system.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, an agent-to-agent message visualization device according to the present invention provides a multi-agent system in which a plurality of agents cooperate by performing asynchronous communication of messages. An agent-to-agent message visualization device provided for visualizing a message exchanged between agents on a display screen, comprising: an agent name management unit in which an agent on the multi-agent system is registered; Agent visualization means for acquiring information about the agent and displaying an agent icon representing the agent on the display screen, and the agent name of the source and destination of the message when a message is transmitted and received between the agents Get, between agent icon agents performing transmission and reception of the message, characterized in that a message visualizing means for displaying the message icon representing the flow of messages on the display screen.

According to the above configuration, by displaying the agents operating in the multi-agent system as agent icons on the display screen, it is possible to visualize the presence of the agents and to perform message communication between the agents. By displaying a message icon between the agent icon of the source agent and the agent icon of the destination agent, the flow of messages between the agents can be visualized.

[0012] Thus, it is possible to provide an inter-agent message visualization device which can demonstrate the cooperative operation between agents in a multi-agent system in an easy-to-understand manner and is also effective for debugging the multi-agent system.

[0013] In the above-described message visualizing device between agents, the message visualizing means may display a moving image so that the message icon moves from the agent icon of the source agent of the message to the agent icon of the destination agent. preferable.

[0014] According to the above configuration, since the message icon is displayed as a moving image from the agent icon of the source agent to the agent icon of the destination agent, there is an advantage that the flow of the message can be more easily grasped.

[0015] In the above-described message visualizing device between agents, it is preferable that the message visualizing means displays a still image of the message icon together with a graphic representing a message transmission direction.

According to the above configuration, since the transmission direction of the message between the agents is displayed by a graphic such as an arrow, there is an advantage that the flow of the message can be more easily grasped.

The above-described message visualization device between agents is an input device for selecting an agent icon on the display screen, and a selection menu display for displaying a selection menu for changing a display mode of the agent icon selected by the input device. It is preferable that the information processing apparatus further comprises: means and definition information updating means for updating agent icon definition information held by the agent visualizing means in accordance with an operator's instruction input from the selection menu.

According to the above configuration, the operator changes the agent icon definition information using the selection menu displayed on the display screen, so that the agent icon can be displayed even during the operation of the multi-agent system and the inter-agent message visualization device. The display mode can be changed.

In the above-mentioned message visualizing device between agents, the multi-agent system includes a communication server for controlling message communication between agents, and a monitoring means for monitoring exchange of messages between agents in the communication server. Preferably, the message visualizing means displays a message icon based on information obtained from the monitor means.

According to the above configuration, the message exchange between the agents is controlled by the communication server. Therefore, by providing the communication server with the monitor means, the message icon is displayed without changing the agent body. An agent message visualization device capable of easily and efficiently acquiring information for performing the operation can be provided.

In the above agent message visualization device, the multi-agent system includes a monitor agent that mediates exchange of messages between the agents, and the message visualization means uses a message icon based on information obtained from the monitor agent. Is preferably displayed.

In the above configuration, the message visualization means obtains information on the message from the monitor agent, which is a kind of agent, so that the information for displaying the message icon can be obtained using the conventional inter-agent communication method. Can be obtained. This facilitates implementation of the inter-agent message visualization device in a multi-agent system.

The above-described message visualization device between agents includes a monitoring means for acquiring information of a message in a message transmission / reception unit in which each agent of the multi-agent system transmits / receives a message, and the message visualization means comprises the monitoring means. The message icon may be displayed based on the information obtained from.

[0024] The above-mentioned message visualization device between agents obtains the content of the message transmitted from the agent and temporarily stores the content,
An input device for selecting a message icon on the display screen, and a message content display unit for acquiring the content of the message of the message icon selected by the input device from the message content storage unit and displaying the message content on the display screen. Is preferred.

According to the above configuration, when the operator selects an arbitrary message icon using the input device, the message content of the selected message icon is displayed on the display screen. This makes it possible to visualize not only the message flow but also the message content,
It is possible to provide an inter-agent message visualization device that can easily demonstrate a cooperative operation between agents in a multi-agent system and is also effective for debugging a multi-agent system.

The above-described message visualization device between agents includes a message history storage unit that stores history information including at least one of the contents of a message regarding at least one of a transmission message and a reception message of each agent, and selects an agent icon on the display screen. And a message history display unit for acquiring the history information on the agent of the agent icon selected by the input device and displaying the contents of past transmitted messages or received messages.

According to the above configuration, when the operator selects an arbitrary agent icon using the input device, the contents of the message transmitted or received in the past by the agent of the selected agent icon are displayed on the display screen. Is displayed. This makes it possible to visualize not only the current message flow but also what kind of message has been transmitted and received in the past in each agent. As a result, it is possible to provide an agent-to-agent message visualization device that can easily demonstrate a cooperative operation between agents in a multi-agent system and is also effective in debugging a multi-agent system.

In the above configuration, the message history display means creates and displays a summary list of past transmitted messages or received messages based on the acquired history information, and a summary list display means selected from the summary list. It is further preferable to include a message content display means for acquiring and displaying the content of the message from the message history storage means.

As a result, a summary list of past transmitted or received messages is displayed first, and the operator can select a desired message from the summary list when he / she wants to check the detailed contents. And a message visualization device between agents.

The agent-to-agent message visualization device receives an operation request message, executes the operation, and transmits the operation result as a message. The agent transmits the operation request message to another agent and interprets the operation result. For an agent receiving as a message, a counter holding unit having a counter for calculating the difference between the number of transmitted messages and the number of received messages for each agent, and determine the operating state of the agent based on a counter value of the counter holding unit, It is preferable that the apparatus further includes a determination unit that notifies the determination result to the agent visualization unit, and the agent visualization unit changes the display mode of the agent icon according to the determination result notified from the determination unit.

For example, an agent, such as a database agent, which receives a processing request message, executes processing, and transmits a processing result as a message, or transmits a processing request message to another agent, such as a user agent. By calculating the difference in the number of transmitted and received messages for the agent that receives the processing result as a message, the operating state of the agent can be determined. This allows
Provides a message visualization device between agents that can also visualize the operating status of agents, easily demonstrate the cooperative operation between agents in a multi-agent system, and is also effective for debugging multi-agent systems. It is possible to do.

When the agent is added to the multi-agent system, the agent-to-agent message visualization device acquires information on the added agent from the agent name management means, and stores the agent icon definition information of the added agent. Preferably, an agent icon definition creating means for creating and adding to the agent icon definition information held by the agent visualizing means is provided.

According to the above configuration, when an agent is added, the agent icon definition creating means can
Since the agent icon definition information for displaying the agent icon of the added agent is created, the change of the agent on the multi-agent system can be promptly reflected on the display screen.

[0034] In the above arrangement, the agent icon definition creating means includes menu display means for displaying a menu for allowing the operator to select the display mode of the agent icon of the added agent, and the operator input from the menu. It is more preferable to create the agent icon definition information of the added agent according to the instruction of (1).

Thus, when an agent is added, the operator can determine the display mode of the agent icon of the added agent.

When the agent is deleted from the multi-agent system, the agent message visualization device deletes the agent icon definition information of the deleted agent from the agent icon definition information held by the agent visualization means. It is preferable to include an agent icon definition deleting unit that performs the operation.

According to the above configuration, when the agent is deleted, the agent definition creating means deletes the agent icon definition information of the deleted agent, so that the agent icon of the agent disappears from the display screen. Becomes Thus, the change of the agent on the multi-agent system can be promptly reflected on the display screen.

In the above agent message visualization device, when an agent is deleted from the multi-agent system, the agent icon of the deleted agent is displayed in a different form in the agent icon definition information held by the agent visualization means. It is preferable to include an agent icon definition changing means for changing the agent icon definition information as described above.

According to the above configuration, the agent icon of the deleted agent is displayed on the display screen in a manner different from other agents. Thus, the change of the agent on the multi-agent system can be promptly reflected on the display screen.

It is preferable that the inter-agent message visualization device includes an explanation display means for displaying a predetermined explanation on the display screen when a message transmitted or received by the agent meets a predetermined condition. .

According to the above configuration, for example, when the message content includes a predetermined character string, the description of the content corresponding to the character string is displayed, so that the processing contents of the agent can be easily visualized. it can. This makes it possible to provide an agent-to-agent message visualization device that can easily demonstrate the cooperative operation between agents in a multi-agent system and is also effective for debugging the multi-agent system.

Next, the inter-agent message visualization device of the present invention can be provided separately from the multi-agent system. The merit of separate installation is that if the message visualization device between agents is incorporated into an actual multi-agent system by a method such as trapping messages, the reliability of the message visualization device between agents will affect the reliability of the entire multi-agent system. This has the advantage of eliminating the effect, and also the advantage of eliminating the effect since the processing time of the inter-agent message visualization device similarly delays the processing time of the entire multi-agent system.

In the case where the inter-agent message visualization device of the present invention is provided separately from the multi-agent system, the inter-agent message visualization device further includes a communication message log collection unit for collecting log information of communication messages of individual agents. A session specifying unit that specifies a group of messages necessary for realizing a certain function between agents; and a communication message classifying unit that classifies communication messages collected by the communication message log collecting unit for each of the specified sessions. A communication message dependency information generating unit for extracting and generating dependency information between communication messages classified for each session by the communication message classifying unit, and referring to the dependency information of the communication message, I Comprising a sequence interpretation unit which performs interpreter processing, the message visualizing unit is, in synchronization with the communication message sequence interpretation by the sequence interpretation unit, and configured to display the message icon on the display screen.

According to the above configuration, each agent only outputs communication message information to the inter-message visualization device in the form of communication message log information in accordance with a predefined format, and the inter-message visualization device performs processing based on the information. Since the messages are visualized, the reliability and performance of the inter-message visualization device do not affect the entire multi-agent system.

The communication message log information passed by each agent to the communication message log collection unit includes dependency information between communication messages, and the communication message dependency information generation unit is included in the communication message log information. By extracting and generating the inter-communication message dependency relationship information, it is possible to visualize the order of message exchange between agents, a waiting state, and the like based on information received in the form of a communication message log. If the communication time information of each communication message is included in the communication message log information, the dependency information is extracted by arranging the reception message and the transmission message for each agent in the order of elapsed time based on the communication message communication time information. In addition, dependency information between received messages and transmitted messages can be generated.

Further, the inter-agent message visualization device can generate and extract sequence elements from communication message log information and use them. First, by calculating the time difference between the received message and the transmitted message for each agent, it is possible to generate a sequence element of the waiting information expressing the time required for the internal processing of the agent. Second, it is possible to extract the agent status / action expression text information included in the communication message log information and generate a sequence element for displaying the agent status / action expression text information. The sequence interpreter can determine the communication message sequence in consideration of the sequence elements of the dependency information and the waiting information, and the sequence element displaying the agent state / action expression text.

Further, the agent-to-agent message visualization device can extract and use a user identifier from communication message log information. When an identifier of a user for which message visualization is to be performed is specified, only the communication message log information having a user identifier for the specified user is visualized.

Also, the agent-to-agent message visualization device can collect communication message log information by providing a monitor agent corresponding to each agent.
Communication message log information can be managed for each monitor agent, and only necessary information can be visualized.

Further, the sequence interpreting section of the inter-agent message visualization device has a function of performing interpreter processing of communication message sequences of a plurality of sessions in parallel, so that the message visualizing section synchronizes with the interpretation of the plurality of communication message sequences. By changing the icon shape and color information for each session and each user, it is possible to provide a message that is easy for the user to understand.

[0050]

Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, a multi-agent system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows functional blocks of a multi-agent system with a message visualizing function in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-agent system includes, as basic blocks for performing message communication between agents, an agent processing unit 11 for controlling processing of each agent, and an agent name on the multi-agent system. It has an agent name management unit 12 (agent name management means) for managing, a message communication unit 13 for transferring messages between agents, and a message queue management unit 14 for enabling asynchronous processing of messages.

The agent processing unit 11 describes the operation procedure of the agent, and each agent operates to fulfill each function according to the operation procedure.
Each agent registers its own agent name in the agent name management unit 12 at the time of startup. That is,
In the agent name management unit 12, the names of all agents operating on the present multi-agent system are registered. As a result, it becomes possible to transmit a message specifying a transmission destination between arbitrary agents of the present multi-agent system.

That is, when a certain agent wants to send a message to another agent, the agent at the source of the message specifies the name of the agent at the destination and requests the message communication unit 13 to perform a message delivery process. The communication unit 13 acquires the information of the destination agent by referring to the agent name management unit 12, and performs an actual message transmission process. Note that the destination agent of the message may be specified by describing the destination agent name in the message,
It may be specified outside the message.

The message transmitted from one agent is delivered by the message communication unit 13 to the agent specified as the destination. The agent that has received the message temporarily stores the received message in the message queue management unit 14 and, when it becomes available for processing, retrieves the message from the message queue management unit 14 and processes it. Note that the message queue management unit 14 may be provided for each agent, or may be provided in a communication server that functions as a message communication path in the present multi-agent system.

As described above, by temporarily storing the received message in the message queue management unit 14, the agent does not need to execute the reception process in synchronization with the transmission process, and thus the agent executing the reception process at the time of receiving the message is not required. Other processing can be continued, and asynchronous processing is realized.

Further, the multi-agent system includes a display screen 17 and a process of displaying an agent on the display screen 17 as an agent-to-agent message visualization apparatus which provides a function of visualizing an agent and a message exchanged between the agents. Agent display processing unit 15 to perform (agent visualization means)
And a message display processing unit 16 (message visualizing means) for performing a process of displaying a message on the display screen 17.

The agent display processing section 15 has a function of displaying an agent icon on the display screen 17. Note that an agent icon refers to one in which one agent is arranged as one icon on a GUI (graphical user interface).

FIG. 2 shows a display example of the agent icon. In the example shown in FIG. 2, three agent icons are displayed on the display screen 17 using a graphic representing the type of agent. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a character string (description text) indicating the name of the agent, the type of the agent, and the like may be added to each agent icon.

For example, the agent icon 21 displayed at the upper left of the display screen 17 shown in FIG. 2 is accompanied by explanatory text 21a indicating that this agent is a mediation agent named “Agent1”. I have. Also, the agent icon 22 in the lower left
Has a description text 22a indicating that this agent is a database agent (DB agent) named “Agent3”.

The message display processing section 16 displays the display screen 1
7 has a function of displaying a message icon. Note that the message icon refers to one in which one message exchanged between agents is arranged as a single icon on a GUI (graphical user interface), similarly to the above-mentioned agent icon.

The message icon is displayed on the display screen 17 in an appropriate display form by the message display processing unit 16 monitoring information on the transmission and reception of the message when the message is transmitted and received between the agents. FIGS. 3A to 3C show examples of appropriate display modes.
As shown in (c), the message icon is moved between the agent icons by animation,
There is a method of displaying an arrow-shaped message icon for a predetermined time. Note that the agent icon is always displayed on the display screen 17, whereas the message icon is temporarily displayed when a message is transmitted.

FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c) show, as an example of a message icon display, a situation where a message is transmitted from an agent named “Agent1” to an agent named “Agent2”. It is shown over time.

In this case, “Agen” is displayed on the display screen 17.
An agent icon 23 representing an agent named "t1" and an agent icon 24 representing an agent named "Agent2" are displayed, and a message icon 25 using a figure representing a message (in this example, an envelope figure). Is displayed as a moving image (animation display) so as to move from “Agent1” that transmitted the message to “Agent2”.

FIG. 4 shows another mode of displaying a message icon. In this case, the display screen 17
Includes an agent icon 23 representing an agent named “Agent1” and an agent icon 24 representing an agent named “Agent2”.
Is displayed, and a graphic representing the message (in this example, an envelope) is displayed between these agent icons.
Are displayed, and an arrow graphic 27 indicating the message transmission direction is displayed. The message icon 26 and the arrow graphic 27 are displayed as still images.

By displaying message icons in these modes, it is possible to easily visualize which agent has transmitted and received a message from which agent.

In addition to the agent icon and the message icon, the display screen 17 can present a message for prompting the user to input auxiliary information, additional information for the user, and the like.

Here, the display processing of the agent icon will be described. The display processing of the agent icon is mainly performed by the above-described agent display processing unit 15.

As shown in FIG. 5, the agent display processing unit 15 includes an agent definition initial file 15a, a definition file analysis unit 15b, an agent display information management database 15c, and an agent image display unit 15d.
And an agent image database 15e.

The agent definition initial file 15a contains information (agent icon definition information) necessary for displaying an agent icon for each of the agents registered in the agent name management unit 12, which will be described in detail later. Has been recorded.

The definition file analysis unit 15b has a function of analyzing the agent icon definition information of the agent definition initial file 15a to display the agent icons. The analysis result is stored as internal information in the agent display information management database 15c.

The agent image database 15e is
Stores image data of agent icons.

Here, the agent definition initial file 1
FIG. 6 shows an example of the agent icon definition information recorded in 5a. Agent icon definition information
The information includes information on the agent name, the image file name of the agent icon, the display position of the agent icon on the display screen 17, and the like. The information shown in FIG.
This is an example of agent icon definition information for displaying one agent icon on the display screen 17 by executing the command mkagent of the Tcl + Tk program.

In this example, in the name tag (-name), the agent name is “fagent @ host.
domain. co. jp ", and the position tag (-post) in the display screen 17
The display position of the agent icon in x = 5
00, y = 100 °.

In the image tag (-image), the image data of the agent icon is stored in the agent image database 15e as "fagent.gif".
Is registered. Further, in the title tag (-title), a definition regarding the description text of the agent icon is described. In this example, to represent the type of agent,
The character string “mediation agent” is represented by an offset position ｛x = 0, y =
It is defined to be displayed at 80 °.

The agent icon definition information may be directly described in the agent definition initial file 15a using a programming language such as an interpreter language as in the above example, but is not limited to this. Alternatively, an interpretation system that interprets information in a definition file in which a description method is defined in advance may be used.

Next, the message icon display process will be described. The display processing of the message icon is mainly performed by the message display processing unit 16 described above.

As shown in FIG. 7, the message display processing section 16 includes a message information creating section 16a, a message image display section 16b, and a message image database 16c.
And the movement timing generation unit 16d.

The message information creator 16a obtains information on the transmitted / received message from the message communicator 13, and obtains information on the agent that transmits / receives the message from the agent display information management database 15c of the agent display processor 15, Create message information to display message icons.

The message information includes, for example, the names of the source and destination agents of the message, the display positions of the agent icons of these agents, the graphic types of the message icons, and the display positions of the message icons. Contains various information.

The message image database 15e stores image data such as message icons.

The message image display section 16b displays a message icon on the display screen 17 using the image data stored in the message image database 16c based on the message information created by the message information creating section 16a.

The movement timing generation section 16d will be described later in detail with respect to the message image display section 16b.
It controls the length of time for displaying the message icon and controls the timing when displaying the message icon in animation.

As described above, there are two types of display modes of the message icon, that is, an animation display and a still image display. First, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, one example is shown in FIGS. A method of displaying a message icon by animation will be described.

Here, the agent icon representing the agent of the message transmission source is Agent (S), the agent icon representing the agent of the message transmission destination is Agent (E), and the position of Agent (S) on the display screen 17. To {Xs, Ys}, Agent (E)
Is {Xe, Ye} on the display screen 17, the number of samplings for message movement is N, and m = {0, 1,
When the position of the message icon on the display screen 17 at the time of N} is {Xm, Ym}, Xm and Ym are represented by the following equations.

[0085]

Xm = Xs + (Xe−Xs) × m ÷ N

[0086]

Ym = Ys + (Ye−Ys) × m ÷ N For example, if N = 4, from the above equations (1) and (2),

[0087]

[Equation 3] {X0, Y0} = {Xs, Ys}

[0088]

{X1, Y1} = {1/4 (3Xs + Xe),
1/4 (3Ys + Ye)}

[0089]

[Equation 5] {X2, Y2} = {1/4 (2Xs + 2X)
e), 1/4 (2Ys + 2Ye)}

[0090]

{X3, Y3} = {1/4 (Xs + 3Xe),
1/4 (Ys + 3Ye)}

[0091]

{X4, Y4} = {Xe, Ye}.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart for performing such an animation display. As shown in FIG. 8, the message icon is displayed on the display screen 17 as A
Assuming that the time required to move from gent (S) to Agent (E), that is, from {Xs, Ys} to {Xe, Ye} is t, m = {0,1,.
1) In {}, the message icon is changed to {Xm, Ym}
Is the length of time t / N. When m = N, the message icon is displayed at the display position {Xe, Y
At e｝, an afterimage is displayed for a predetermined time T.

In the case of performing the animation display, the agent actually completes the message receiving process after the message icon reaches Agent (E). This is because, for example, when a message is transmitted from the agent A to the agent C via the agent B, the movement of the message icon from the agent A to the agent B is completed, and the agent
If the message icon is not moved, the exchange of messages having an order relationship appears as transmission of two unrelated messages.

Next, a method of displaying a message icon by displaying a still image as shown in FIG. 4 will be described. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, Agent (S)
An interior point that divides the distance between Agent and Agent (E) into four equal parts is expressed as ｛X
0, Y0}, {X1, Y1}, {X2, Y2}, {X
3, Y3}, {X4, Y4}, a message icon 28 is displayed on {X1, Y1}, and an arrow graphic 29 with a start point of {X2, Y2} and an end point of {X3, Y3} is displayed. , Can express a moving message. In FIG. 9, the agent icon and the message icon are displayed as simple circles, but it goes without saying that any image can be used.

Note that also in the case of the display using the stationary message icon, the message icon and the arrow figure are displayed.
It is preferable to display continuously for a predetermined time. However, unlike the animation display, it is not necessary to synchronize the display time of the message icon with the completion timing of the message reception processing.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the agents on the multi-agent system are displayed as agent icons, and messages exchanged between the agents are displayed as message icons. Also, the message icon is displayed as an animation or displayed with a graphic such as an arrow between the agent icon of the transmission source agent and the agent icon of the transmission destination agent, so that the flow of the message can be easily grasped.

As a result, it is possible to provide an inter-agent message visualization device which can demonstrate the cooperative operation between agents in a multi-agent system in an easy-to-understand manner, and is also effective for debugging the multi-agent system.

(Embodiment 2) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
The components having the same functions as the components described in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the multi-agent system with the message visualization function according to the present embodiment, the operator drags the agent icon using a pointing device such as a mouse, for example, so that the display screen 1
The user can arbitrarily change the display position of the agent icon on the screen 7 or click on the agent icon to change various display parameters of the agent icon, such as changing the display shape of the agent icon. .

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 10, the present multi-agent system has
The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that an agent screen operation unit 15f and a definition file storage unit 15g are provided.

The agent screen operation unit 15f (definition information updating means) is connected to the input device 18 such as a mouse, and in the agent display information management database 15c based on an operator's instruction given from the input device 18.
Change the parameters of the internal information used to display the agent icon.

The definition file storage unit 15g (definition information updating means) reflects the change of the parameter based on the operator's instruction also in the agent icon definition information stored in the agent definition initial file 15a. For this reason, the definition file storage unit 15g performs a process opposite to that of the definition file analysis unit 15b, that is, a process of inversely converting parameters of internal information into agent icon definition information.

Here, the processing when the operator clicks the agent icon displayed on the display screen 17 will be described.

When the agent icon is clicked, next to the clicked agent icon, FIG.
A menu window 41 as shown in FIG. 1 is displayed.
From this menu window 41, the operator further
By selecting any one of “file”, “edit”, and “attribute”, a file operation menu 42, an edit menu 43, and an attribute edit menu 44 as shown in FIG. Either is displayed on the display screen 17.

For example, when the operator selects the menu window 41
The file operation menu 42 displayed when "File" is selected is a menu for inputting operation instructions such as saving and reading regarding the agent icon definition information of the agent definition initial file 15a.

"New" in the file operation menu 42
By selecting, the operator can himself create new agent icon definition information. If “read” is selected, existing agent icon definition information can be read and displayed on the display screen 17. If "save" is selected, the created agent icon definition information can be saved in the agent definition initial file 15a. If "Save as" is selected, the created agent icon definition information can be saved with an arbitrary file name. Further, if "end" is selected, the input processing of the operation instruction regarding the agent icon definition information can be ended.

An edit menu 43 displayed when the operator selects “edit” in the menu window 41 includes a list of agents to be displayed as agent icons in the agent icon definition information of the agent definition initial file 15a (see FIG. 4). This is a menu for operating (set).

For example, if the operator selects “add”,
An agent icon definition of a new agent can be added to the agent icon definition information.
If "Delete" is selected, unnecessary agent icon definitions can be deleted from the agent icon definition information.
If "Duplicate" is selected, the definition of the existing agent icon can be copied to create the definition of the new agent icon.

An attribute edit menu 44 displayed when the operator selects “attribute” in the menu window 41 edits various attribute parameters of the agent icon in the agent icon definition information of the agent definition initial file 15a. Menu that can be operated after selecting the agent icon whose attribute is to be changed.

When the operator selects “icon image” in the attribute edit menu 44, the image file of the agent icon can be changed. This change is performed by the definition file storage unit 15g, for example, as shown in FIG.
Is reflected in the file name described in the image tag (-image) of the agent icon definition information shown in FIG.

When "icon image" is selected in the attribute edit menu 44, the display position of the agent icon can be changed. The changed contents in this case are stored in the definition file storage unit 15g, for example, as shown in FIG.
Are reflected in the coordinates described in the position tag (-post) of the agent icon definition information shown in FIG.

If "description text" is selected in the attribute edit menu 44, the content and display position of the text for description added to the agent icon can be edited. The edited result is stored in the definition file storage unit 15g.
Thus, for example, it is reflected in the description content of the title tag (-title) of the agent icon definition information shown in FIG.

If "Agent name" is selected in the attribute edit menu 44, the agent name and the type of agent can be changed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the operator can edit the agent icon definition information of the agent definition initial file 15a by giving an operation instruction on the display screen 17. This allows
The user can change the display position of the agent icon, edit the image of the agent icon and the explanatory text, and add / delete the agent icon.

Note that the display items and display modes of the menu window and the like described in the present embodiment are not limited to these, and various items can be displayed in various modes as needed. is there.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
Components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, a multi-agent system with a message visualizing function for performing message communication between agents via a communication server will be described.

First, a general message transmission / reception method between multiagents by a communication server will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. For simplicity of explanation, FIG. 12 shows only two hosts, but
The number of hosts is not limited to two.

In the present multi-agent system, each host is always provided with at least one communication server. That is, in the example shown in FIG.
1 and the host 32 are provided with communication servers 33 and 34, respectively. The communication servers 33 and 34 have a function of managing subordinate agent names and a function of referencing the destination of a message received from a communication server of another host to an appropriate subordinate agent.

Agents existing under the communication server 33 of the host 31 are referred to as Agent1 to Agent3,
Agents that exist under the communication server 34 of the host 32 are referred to as Agent4 and Agent5.

Also, the host 31 is given the name "Host1", the host 32 is given the name "Host2", and each of the above agents is given a host name after the agent name. For example, in the case of Agent1, "Agent1 @ H
ost1 ”.

As described above, in the present multi-agent system, since the agent name is determined by the combination of the agent name and the host name, an agent having the same name may exist on a different host.

Further, each host and each agent under the host are connected by a socket, and the communication server 33 and the communication server 34 are also connected by a socket. Each of the communication servers 33 and 34 has an agent name management table (not shown). FIG. 13A shows an example of the structure of an agent name management table provided in the communication server 33. Similarly, FIG. 13A shows an example of the structure of an agent name management table provided in the communication server 34.

As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B,
The agent name management table records the identification names of all the agents under the communication server and the socket numbers in association with each other.

Here, as an operation example, the Ag of the host 31 is
A case where a message is sent from ent1 to Agent4 of the host 32 will be described.

Agent 1 sends the message with the destination name of the message described as “Agent 4 @ Host 2”. The message sent from Agent 1 is sent to communication server 33 of host 31. The communication server 33 determines that the destination of the message is “Agent4 @ H
By referring to the host name portion (Host2) of "ost2", it is known that this message is addressed to an agent under the host 32, and the message is transferred to the communication server 34 of the host 32.

Upon receiving the message, the communication server 34 of the host 32 receives the message “Agent 4”
Agent name part of "Host2" (Agent
By referring to 4), this message is
Know that it is t4. Therefore, the communication server 34 refers to the agent name management table, acquires the socket number of Agent 4, and transfers this message to Agent 4.

According to the above procedure, the host 31
A message is transmitted from t1 to Agent4 of the host 32. Note that even in the case of message communication between agents in the same host, the message always passes through the communication server of the host. As described above, in the configuration of the present embodiment, since the message exchanged between the agents always passes through the communication server, at least a part of the function for realizing the message visualization is incorporated in the communication server. .

FIG. 14 shows a configuration for visualizing a message in the multi-agent system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 14, for convenience, only the configuration of the communication server 33 is shown in detail.
And other communication servers not shown have the same configuration.

As shown in FIG. 14, the multi-agent system of the present embodiment is characterized in that the message communication unit 13 shown in FIG. 1 in the first embodiment is provided on a communication server. The message communication unit 13 includes a message acquisition unit 13a and a message transfer unit 13b. The message transmission / reception processing unit 33a shown in the communication server 33 implements the general message transmission / reception function of the conventional communication server as described above.

The configuration of the message display processing unit 16 shown in FIG. 14 is almost the same as the configuration described in the first embodiment. For example, a single agent operating on the host on which the communication server 33 is arranged Alternatively, it may be realized as an application.

Message acquisition section 13a (monitor means)
When a message is sent from an agent to a communication server, information about the message is acquired, and the acquired information is sent to the message information creation unit 16a of the message display processing unit 16. Note that the information on the message includes the name of the agent of the transmission source of the message, the name of the agent of the transmission destination, and the like.

The message information creation unit 16a determines that only when both the agent name of the message transmission source and the agent name of the transmission destination exist in the agent display information management database 15c of the agent display processing unit 15, that is, Only when the agent icons of both the sending agent and the sending agent are displayed on the display screen 17, message information for displaying the message icon is created.

If the agent name of at least one of the transmission destination and the transmission source does not exist in the agent display information management database 15c, the message information creating section 16a does not create the message information, but only writes the message itself. The message is sent to the message transfer unit 13b.

When the message information for displaying the message icon is created, the message information is sent from the message information creation unit 16a to the message image display unit 1
6b, and as described in the first embodiment, using the image of the message icon stored in the message image database 16c, the movement timing generation unit 16
It is displayed on the display screen 17 under the timing control by d.

The message passed to the message transfer unit 13b is passed from the message transfer unit 13b to the message transmission / reception processing unit 33a, and is transmitted to the destination agent by the message transmission / reception processing described above.

When the message icon is displayed as an animation, the movement timing generator 16 d
When the movement of the message icon is completed, the message transmission / reception processing unit 33 is sent to the message transfer unit 13b.
Give an instruction to pass the message to a. This makes it possible to synchronize the movement timing of the message icon on the display screen 17 with the actual message transfer timing.

As described above, in the multi-agent system of the present embodiment, the exchange of messages between the agents is controlled by the communication server. Therefore, by providing the communication server with the monitoring means, the agent itself is changed. Thus, it is possible to provide an agent-to-agent message visualization device that can easily and efficiently acquire information for displaying a message icon.

(Embodiment 4) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
Components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the multi-agent system with a message visualization function of the present embodiment, the message display processing unit 16 described in the first embodiment is implemented as an independent agent (hereinafter, referred to as a monitor agent). The monitor agent has a function of mediating transmission and reception of a message between the transmission source agent and the transmission destination agent and visualizing the message on the display screen 17.

In this multi-agent system, in order to select a message to be visualized, the monitor agent sends an ON / OFF switching designation of the monitor mode to each agent, and the agent that has designated the monitor mode to ON sends the designation. The message is only received and visualized, and no message is received from the agent whose monitor mode is designated OFF. As will be described later, a message from an agent for which the monitor mode is specified to be OFF is transmitted directly to the destination agent without passing through the monitor agent.

Here, with reference to FIG. 15, a description will be given of a message transmission / reception procedure performed by two agents (Agent 1 and Agent 2) and a monitor agent in the present multi-agent system.

In FIG. 15, for the sake of convenience, only the message transmitting unit 35 and the message receiving unit 36 for transmitting and receiving messages are shown for the internal configuration of the agent, and other functional blocks are not shown. In addition, the agent that sent the message (Agent
For only 1), the internal configuration of the message transmitting unit 35 having the monitor mechanism is shown in detail, and the message transmitting unit 35 of the destination agent (Agent 2) is not shown in detail, but Agent 2 and other agents not shown are omitted. Also has the same configuration as Agent1.

As shown in FIG. 15, each agent of the multi-agent system according to the present embodiment includes, in a message transmitting unit 35, a monitor state determining unit 35a, an agent name resolving unit 35b, a transmission processing unit 35c, An information transfer unit 35d and a monitor information update unit 35e are provided.

Further, at least one monitor agent 37 is provided in the present multi-agent system, and has a function of monitoring a message transmitted from an arbitrary agent and visualizing the message as a message icon.

That is, as shown in FIG. 15, the monitor agent 37, as shown in FIG.
The ON / OFF switching designation of the monitor mode is sent to 5e. The monitor information updating unit 35e sends the monitor mode ON / OFF switching designation sent from the monitor agent 37 to the monitor state determination unit 35a.

When the monitor mode of the message is ON, that is, when the message is to be visualized, the monitor state determining unit 35a does not directly transmit the transmission message to the destination agent, but the monitor information transfer unit 35a.
Send to the monitor agent 37 via d. The monitor agent 37 performs the same processing as the message display processing unit 16 described in the first embodiment, and
The message received from 5d is visualized as a message icon on the display screen 17, and the message is transmitted to the destination agent (Agent2 in FIG. 15).

On the other hand, the message monitor mode is OFF
In other words, if the message is not visualized, the monitor state determination unit 35a sends the transmission message to the agent name resolution unit 35b. The agent name resolving unit 35b identifies the destination agent of the transmission message by referring to the agent name stored in the agent name management unit 12 (in FIG. 15, Agent).
2) The message is transmitted from the message transmitting unit 35c to the specified agent.

As described above, in the multi-agent system according to the present embodiment, the monitor agent sends an ON / OFF switching designation of the monitor mode to an arbitrary agent, thereby visualizing a message transmitted from a desired agent. It can be carried out.

Further, since the message display processing unit 16 is realized as one independent agent (monitor agent), the message display processing unit 16 transmits a message from the message transmitting agent to the message display processing unit 16 which is a message visualization mechanism. Since the delivery process can be realized by a normal message transmission / reception process between agents, there is an advantage that implementation is easy.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 15, as a function block for transmitting a message from the agent when the monitor mode is ON, a function block different from that when the monitor mode is OFF (the monitor information transfer unit 35)
d) is provided. However, monitor agent 3
If the function block for receiving a message in 7 has the same structure as the message receiving unit 36 of Agent1 or Agent2, the transfer of the message to the monitor agent 37 is performed in the same manner as the normal message communication between agents. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide the monitor information transfer unit 35d. In this case, a monitor agent can be easily realized only by adding a message transmission / reception function of a normal agent to the message display processing unit 16 having an internal configuration as shown in FIG.

The monitor agent described in the above configuration can be realized as an application instead of an agent.

(Embodiment 5) Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
Components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the multi-agent system with a message visualization function of the present embodiment, when the operator clicks a message icon on the display screen 17 using a pointing device such as a mouse, the content of the message is displayed on the display screen 17. It is supposed to be. Therefore, in the present multi-agent system, as shown in FIG.
, A message content creation unit 16e is further provided.

FIG. 17 shows the internal configuration of the message content creation unit 16e. Message content creation unit 16e includes a message number giving unit 16e _1, and the temporary message storage unit 16e _2, a temporary message storage unit 16e ₃ (message content storage unit), the message content acquisition unit 16e ₄ (the message content display means) , Display message deletion unit 16
and e _5, and a temporary storage message deletion unit 16e _6.

The message number assigning section 16e ₁ and the message temporary storing section 16e ₂ perform processing for acquiring the message content when the message is transmitted from the agent and temporarily storing the message content in the message temporary storing section 16e ₃ . Do.

Therefore, the message number assigning section 16e ₁
Assigns a unique message number to each of the message icons displayed by the message image display unit 16b, and the message temporary storage unit 16e ₂ stores the contents of the message assigned the message number in the message information creation unit 1
Obtained from 6a, in association with the acquired message content with the message number, temporarily stored in the temporary message storage unit 16e _3.

Note that the message temporary storage section 16e ₂
A message icon displayed on the display screen 17, in order to match the contents of the temporary message storage unit 16e _3, the message image display unit 16b and the message icon is displayed on the display screen 17 at the same time,
Message to the temporary storage unit 16e ₃ to store the content of the message.

Further, the display message erasing section 16e ₅
A process of hiding (erasing) the message icon displayed on the display screen 17 is performed. Such non-display processing of the message icon is executed, for example, after the message reaches the transmission destination agent and after the predetermined afterimage time described in the first embodiment has elapsed.

[0160] temporary storage message deletion unit 16e ₆ from the temporary message storage unit 16e _3, to remove the hide processed message content of the message icon. In addition,
Temporary storage message deletion unit 16e _6, in order to match the content of the display status and messages temporary storage section 16e ₃ on the display screen 17, the message icon is erased from the display screen 17 by the display message erasing unit 16e ₅ At the same time, the message content is deleted.

[0161] Thus, while the message icon is displayed on the display screen 17, the message content is stored in the temporary message storage unit 16e _3. Therefore, when the operator clicks the message icon on the display screen 17 using the input device 18 such as a mouse, message content acquiring unit 16e _4, based on the message number of the clicked message icon, the content of the message to get the message from the temporary storage section 16e _3,
The message is sent to the message image display section 16b. Message image display unit 16b receives the message content from the message content acquisition unit 16e _4, next to the message icon displayed on the display screen 17, displays the message content in a suitable display mode.

As described above, in the multi-agent system of this embodiment, when the operator clicks the message icon displayed on the display screen 17, the content of the message can be displayed on the display screen 17. it can. This makes it possible to realize a multi-agent system capable of easily visualizing what message is being transmitted.

In addition to the method in which the operator clicks the message icon with a pointing device such as a mouse to select the message icon whose message content is to be displayed, a desired message icon is displayed by using a cursor key of a keyboard or the like. May be used.

(Embodiment 6) Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
Components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the multi-agent system with the message visualization function of the present embodiment, when the operator clicks the agent icon on the display screen 17 using a pointing device such as a mouse, the message transmitted or received by the agent is displayed. Is displayed on the display screen 17.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 18, the present multi-agent system uses the message display processing unit 16
And a message history creation unit 16f (message history display means).

FIG. 19 shows the internal configuration of the message history creating section 16f. Message history creating unit 16f includes a message history adding unit 16f _1, the message history capacity determining unit 16f _2, a message deletion unit 16f _3, and the message history storage 16f ₄ (message history storing means), create message history summary list and parts 16f ₅ (summary list display means), and a designation message content obtaining unit 16f ₆ (message content display means).

[0168] message history storage 16f ₄ stores the message history information about the message sent with the message that the agent has received. The information stored as the message history information includes, for a received message, the name of the agent that sent the message and the content of the message, and for the transmitted message, for the transmitted message, the name of the agent that transmitted the message and the content of the message. included.

The message history adding section 16f ₁ obtains information on transmitted and received messages from the message information creating section 16a and creates message history information every time a message is sent and received between agents, and the message history storage section 16f ₄ Perform the process of storing in.

As described above, every time a message is transmitted / received, the message history information is stored in the message history storage unit 16.
Since added to f _4, in order to manage the capacity of the message history storage unit 16f _4, message history capacity determining unit 16
f ₂ and the message deletion unit 16f ₃ is provided.

[0171] message history capacity determining unit 16f _2, when the total number of messages stored in the message history storage unit 16f ₄ it is determined whether it exceeds a predetermined number, over the message deletion unit 16f Send instructions to ₃ to delete old message history information.

[0172] Incidentally, whether the criteria to delete old message history information may be the total number of messages as described above but, not limited thereto, the storage capacity used in the message history storage unit 16f ₄ May be used as a criterion, or an unused storage capacity may be used as a criterion.

[0173] In addition, the message deletion unit 16f _3, in addition to delete old messages according to such criteria, when the operator clicks the agent icon, for performing an instruction to clear the message history information for the agent May be displayed so that when the operator inputs an instruction to clear the message history information, the message history information of the agent is cleared.

Message history summary list creating section 16f ₅
Creates the agent icon is clicked by the operator, acquires the message history information of the agent from the message history storage unit 16f _4, a summary list describing an overview for each message sent and received so far, The message is sent to the message image display section 16b. The message image display unit 16b displays the sent summary list on the display screen 17.

When the operator clicks on an agent icon, the summary list of both the sent message and the received message may be displayed, or the summary list of either the sent message or the received message may be displayed to the operator. Alternatively, a menu window or the like for allowing the operator to select the operation may be displayed, and only the summary list selected by the operator may be displayed.

In the summary list, messages may be displayed in the order of old or new, or messages may be grouped by content or type and displayed in a list. In the latter case, a mechanism may be provided that allows the operator to select a group of messages to be displayed in a list.

[0177] Specifies the message content acquisition unit 16f _6, when the operator selects one of the messages from the summary list, the message history storage unit 16f _4, to obtain detailed information of the message, the message image display unit 1
Send to 6b. The message image display unit 16b displays the sent detailed information on the display screen 17.

As described above, in the multi-agent system according to the present embodiment, when the operator clicks the agent icon on the display screen 17, the history information of the message transmitted or received by the agent is displayed. This makes it possible to realize a multi-agent system capable of easily visualizing what message each agent has sent and received.

Note that, in addition to a method in which the operator clicks an agent icon with a pointing device such as a mouse to select an agent icon for which message history information is to be displayed, a desired agent is selected by using a cursor key on a keyboard or the like. A method of selecting an icon may be used.

(Embodiment 7) Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
Components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In each of the embodiments described above, it is possible to see the exchange of messages between agents, but it is not possible to identify on the display screen 17 whether or not the agents are active.

For this reason, in the multi-agent system with the message visualization function of the present embodiment, for the active agent, for example, the display screen 17
By adding a mark such as a red circle to the agent icon, blinking the agent icon, or changing the display color of the agent icon above, the display mode of the agent icon is changed according to the state of the agent. It has become.

The active state of the agent differs depending on the type of the agent. For example, a user agent that plays the role of an interface with a user triggers access from the user, sends a message such as a processing request to another agent, and when a reply to this message arrives, the content of the reply Is passed to the user to end the process. Therefore, in the case of a user agent, a state in which a message is transmitted to another agent and then a response to the message is waited can be regarded as an active state.

Further, upon receiving a search request message from another agent, an information search or a database search is performed with respect to a database or a search engine, and the search result is converted into a format understandable by the requesting agent and answered. In the case of a database agent (or a wrapper agent), a state in which information retrieval or database retrieval is performed after receiving a retrieval request message from another agent can be regarded as an active state.

Therefore, in the present multi-agent system, in order to determine whether or not an agent is in an active state from the number of messages sent and received by each agent,
As shown in FIG. 20, the agent display processing unit 15
A count processing unit 15h is provided.

[0186] counting unit 15h, as shown in FIG. 21, a counter increasing portion 15h _1, the counter decrement unit 15
and h _2, the counter holder 15h ₃ (counter holding means)
If, counter judgment unit 15h ₄ (determining means), and a counter reset unit 15h _5.

[0187] counter holder 15h ₃ has a counter of the number of messages sent and received for each agent. This counter is stored in the message receiving unit 13a of the message communication unit 13.
From each of the agent is informed that the message has been received, the counter increasing portion 15h ₁ is incremented by 1, the message transmitting unit 13b of the message communication unit 13 is notified that the agent sends a message per that, the counter decrement unit 15h ₂ is decremented by 1.

[0188] Incidentally, the counter reset unit 15h ₅ is started or when each agent, to restart after the agent has terminated abnormally, resets the counter of the agent. The reset of the counter may be a counter reset unit 15h ₅ is made automatically, the operator counter reset unit 1 according to the instructions performed through a menu or the like
May be 5h ₅ is carried out.

[0189] counter judgment unit 15h ₄ refers to the counter for each agent in the counter holder 15h _3, when the value of the counter is not "0", and determines that the agent is active, the agent image display unit 15d is notified of that fact. The agent image display unit 15d changes the display mode of the agent icon of the agent notified of the active state to a mode indicating the active state by, for example, attaching a mark such as a red circle as described above.

In the above description, the counter determination unit 15h ₄
Determines that the agent is in the active state if the counter value is not "0", regardless of the type of the agent. However, it is determined whether or not the agent is in the active state according to the type of the agent. The criteria may be changed.

For example, as described above, in the case of a user agent, a state in which a message is transmitted to another agent and waiting for a response to this message is regarded as an active state. Therefore, when the type of the agent is a user agent, when the counter value is “−1”, it can be determined that the agent is in the active state.

On the other hand, in the case of a database agent, a state in which a message is received from another agent and a search process is being performed is regarded as an active state. Therefore, when the type of the agent is a database agent, when the counter value is “1”, it can be determined that the agent is in the active state.

[0193] Thus, depending on the type of agent, in the case where the different one of the criteria whether the active state, the counter judgment unit 15h ₄ needs to recognize the type of each agent. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to describe the type of the agent in the agent icon definition information of the agent definition initial file 15a of the agent display processing unit 15.

For example, the command mka of the Tcl + Tk program as shown in FIG.
In the case of agent icon definition information using a gent, if the agent is a user agent (UA), a description "-kind UA" is added,
If it is a database agent (DB),
What is necessary is just to add the description "-kind DB".

As described above, in the multi-agent system according to the present embodiment, the agent icons are visualized on the display screen 17 in such a manner as to identify whether or not the agent is in the active state. It is possible to provide a multi-agent system for easily grasping the situation. In addition, for example, a database agent may take several tens of seconds to search for information or search a database, but by visualizing the state of each agent, there is an advantage that it is easy to detect a load state or an abnormality of the agent. .

(Eighth Embodiment) Next, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
Components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment and the like, in order to visualize an agent on the multi-agent system as an agent icon, the agent icon definition information of the agent is registered in the agent definition initial file 15a of the agent display processing unit 15 in advance. It was necessary to be.

On the other hand, in the multi-agent system with the message visualization function of the present embodiment, when a new agent is added, the display icon 17 of the new agent can be additionally displayed. In addition, the operator can select image data of an agent icon of a new agent,
It is also possible to specify a display position on the display screen 17 and the like.

For this reason, in the present multi-agent system, as shown in FIG. 22, the agent display processing unit 15 includes an agent definition updating unit 15i (agent icon definition creating unit / agent icon definition deleting unit / agent icon definition changing unit). ) Are further provided. The agent definition updating unit 15i acquires information on the agent name from the agent name management unit 12.

As described in the first embodiment, each agent operating in the present multi-agent system registers its own agent name in the agent name management unit 12 at the time of startup. Therefore, when a new agent is added, the name of the new agent is also registered in the agent name management unit 12.

The agent name management unit 12 of the present embodiment
Notifies the agent definition updating unit 15i of the agent display processing unit 15 that the new agent name has been registered, and the agent definition updating unit 15i receives the notification and displays information for displaying the agent icon of the new agent. Is created and registered in the agent display information management database 15c.

At this time, a menu window or the like is displayed on the display screen 17 so that the operator can select the image data of the agent icon of the new agent, the display position on the display screen 17, and the like. Apparatus 1
It is preferable that the image data and the display position of the new agent icon can be determined interactively by using 8.

In this case, the image data and display position of the new agent icon determined by the operator are stored in the agent screen operating unit 15f as described in the second embodiment.
And registered in the agent display information management database 15c.

Further, as described in the second embodiment, parameters relating to a new agent icon additionally registered in the agent display information management database 15c are stored in the agent display information management database 15c and the agent definition initial file 15a. In order to maintain consistency, the definition file storage unit 15g
It is inversely converted into the format of the agent icon definition information, and is reflected in the agent definition initial file 15a.

Through the above processing, the agent icon definition information relating to the new agent is added, and the agent icon of the new agent is additionally displayed on the display screen 17.

When the agent is deleted from the multi-agent system, the name of the agent is deleted from the agent name management unit 12. The agent name management unit 12 notifies the agent definition updating unit 15i of the agent display processing unit 15 of the deleted agent name. Agent definition update unit 15i
Receives the notification, deletes information on the agent icon of the deleted agent from the agent display information management database 15c.

Accordingly, the definition file storage unit 15g
Deletes the agent icon definition information of the deleted agent from the agent definition initial file 15a in order to maintain consistency between the agent definition initial file 15a and the agent display information management database 15c.

With the above processing, the agent icon of the agent deleted from the multi-agent system is deleted from the display screen 17.

When an agent is deleted from the multi-agent system, the agent icon of the deleted agent is displayed on the display screen 1 as described above.
Instead of completely deleting the agent on the agent 7, the agent icon of the deleted agent may be displayed in a different manner from other active agents. Examples of the display in a different mode include a display using a color different from that of another agent, a display in which a graphic such as a cross indicating that the agent is in an inactive state is overlaid on the agent icon, and a display screen. A display using a transparent color that allows the background to be seen through can be considered.

In this case, the agent definition updating unit 1
5i and the definition file storage unit 15g, instead of deleting the information for displaying the agent icon from the agent definition initial file 15a and the agent display information management database 15c, display the agent icon definition information in a different manner. Etc. may be changed.

Note that this multi-agent system is
If the agent is configured as a mediation agent system in which other agents advertise their existence and functions to the mediation agent, the information of the agent running on the multi-agent system is used as the agent name Instead of acquiring from the management unit 12, it is also possible to acquire from the above-described mediation agent.

As described above, in the multi-agent system of this embodiment, the agent list displayed on the display screen 17 is updated as the list of agents registered in the agent name management unit 12 or the mediation agent is updated. The icon is also updated.

That is, when a new agent is added, the agent icon of the agent is additionally displayed on the display screen 17, and when the agent is deleted, the agent icon of the agent is deleted from the display screen 17, or Alternatively, it is displayed in a different manner. Thereby, the agent definition initial file 15
Since it is not necessary to manually maintain a, it is possible to easily add or delete an agent.

Note that the addition of an agent in the present embodiment is not limited to the case where a completely new agent is added to the multi-agent system, but is a concept including that an agent that has been in an inactive state becomes active. Similarly, the term “deleting an agent” is not limited to a case where an agent is completely deleted from a multi-agent system, but includes a concept that an agent that has been in an active state becomes inactive.

Embodiment 9 Next, a ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition,
Components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In a multi-agent system, if an agent has only a simple function of integrating information, for example, it is easy to visualize how messages are exchanged with other agents, thereby facilitating the processing status. Can be grasped.

However, in a multi-agent system in which a plurality of agents cooperate to perform one process by exchanging different information many times, a message may go back and forth between specific agents many times. In such a case, it is not possible to grasp what processing is being performed by the agent only by visualizing the movement of the message.

Therefore, the multi-agent system with the message visualization function of the present embodiment, when a message transmitted or received by each agent includes a character string specified in advance, displays a message next to the agent icon of the agent in advance. The contents of the processing performed by the agent are visualized by displaying the determined explanation.

For example, a description as shown in FIG. 23 may be added to a program describing the operation procedure of the mediation agent. In this description example, an interpreted language called Basic is used, but it goes without saying that another programming language may be used.

[0220] According to this, if the character string "stock quantity" exists in the transmission / reception message of the mediation agent, the agent image display unit 15d (explanation display means) of the agent display processing unit 15 displays this character string on the display screen 17. Next to the agent icon of the mediation agent, an explanatory note "Searching the total stock of products" is displayed.

If the character string "production quantity" exists in the transmission / reception message of the mediation agent, the description "Searching the stock quantity of the product in production" is displayed next to the agent icon of the mediation agent. The sentence is displayed.

If the character string "missing member" is present in the transmission / reception message of the mediation agent, the description "Searching for the name of the missing member" is displayed next to the agent icon of the mediation agent. The sentence is displayed.

Further, if the character string "man-hour" exists in the transmission / reception message of the mediation agent, next to the agent icon of the mediation agent, "searching for man-hours required to additionally produce the required number of products" Is displayed.

If none of the character strings of “stock quantity”, “production quantity”, “insufficient parts”, and “man-hour” are included, the “reset” command causes the display screen 17 to be displayed. Delete the description displayed in.

When such conditions are defined in the mediation agent, when the mediation agent sends a message as shown in FIG. 24, the agent image display unit 15d refers to the ": aspect" field of this message. I do. In the “: aspect” field, there is a character string “stock quantity” among the specific character strings specified in FIG. 23, so the agent image display unit 15d reads “total product inventory. Is displayed next to the agent icon of the mediation agent on the display screen 17.

The conditions for displaying the explanatory note are not limited to the specific character strings included in the transmission / reception messages as described above, but may include various elements other than the character strings included in the message description. Conditions can be set for

As described above, according to the multi-agent system of the present embodiment, when a message transmitted / received by an agent matches a preset condition, a preset explanation is displayed, whereby the agent can be displayed. Visualize the content of the processing being performed. As a result, the processing contents of the agent can be grasped in real time, and debugging processing and the like can be performed efficiently.

(Embodiment 10) Next, a tenth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, components having the same functions as those described in the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The inter-agent message visualization device of the tenth embodiment is provided with the inter-agent message visualization device separately from the multi-agent system. By providing them separately, it is intended to eliminate influences on the entire multi-agent system such as reliability deterioration and processing time delay caused by the inter-agent message visualization device.

FIGS. 25 and 26 are diagrams for explaining the basic principle of providing the inter-agent message visualization device separately from the multi-agent system. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which the processing of the inter-agent message visualization device for comparison is provided without separating the processing of the multi-agent system, and FIG. 26 is the processing of the inter-agent message visualization device and the processing of the multi-agent system. It is a figure explaining composition which provided separately.

In FIG. 25, 100 surrounded by a dotted line is a multi-agent system. 200 surrounded by dotted line
Is a message visualization device including agent visualization means and message visualization means. As shown in FIG. 25, in the case of a configuration in which the processing of the inter-agent message visualization device 200 is not separated from the processing of the multi-agent system 100, the message communication unit 13 has a message trap function 13a incorporated in the communication function. . In order to capture the communication message between the multi-agent systems 100 into the message display processing unit 16, all the message communication of the multi-agent system 100 is once trapped by the message trap function 13a, and the trapped and captured message is transmitted to the message display processing unit 16. Then, a message visualization process in the message visualization device 200 is executed. The message for which the message visualization processing has been completed is returned through the reverse path, and the system processing of the trapping agent processing unit 11 and message communication unit 13 is continued. As described above, when the processing of the message visualization device 200 is not separated from the processing of the multi-agent system 100, the processing of the message visualization device 200 directly affects the processing of the entire multi-agent system 100. However, the reliability of the message visualization device 200 and the processing time delay become problems.

On the other hand, in the configuration shown in FIG. 26 in which the processing of the inter-agent message visualization device 200 is separated from the processing of the multi-agent system 100, the message communication section 13 is not provided with the message trap function 13a. A communication message log collection unit 210 for monitoring messages and collecting / outputting logs thereof is provided. Unlike the message trap function 13a, the communication message log collection unit 210 only collects a message log by a monitor without trapping a message, and does not trap communication of the agent system 100. Communication message log collection unit 210
The collected message log may be stored in a storage device such as a hard disk, or may be sent directly to the message display processing unit 16.

As described above, the message visualizing device 20
If the processing of the message visualization apparatus 200 is separated from the processing of the multi-agent system 100, the processing of the message visualization apparatus 200 does not directly affect the processing of the entire multi-agent system 100. There is no delay in processing time.

FIG. 27 shows the above-described message visualization device 2
It is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the communication message log collection unit 210 and the message display processing unit 16 of the multi-agent system according to the tenth embodiment in which the process of 00 is separated from the process of the multi-agent system 100.

Referring to FIG. 27, message display processing unit 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a message information creation unit 16a, a message image display unit 16b, a message image DB 16c, a movement timing generation unit 16d, a session designation unit 16g, a communication message classification unit 16h, a communication message dependency relationship information generation unit 16i, and a sequence interpretation unit 16j. Have.

The message information creating section 16a, the message image display section 16b, the message image DB 16c, and the movement timing generating section 16d are the same as those described in the first embodiment and the like, and will not be described here.

The session designating section 16g is a section for designating a session for performing a message visualization process. A session is a group of messages required to realize a certain function between agents. For example, a message generated by an external request or some first action is provided with a session identifier. This session identifier information can be given by defining fields as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, when each agent receives a message to which this session identifier is assigned and transmits a message for returning an inquiry or a result when performing some processing, the agent always assigns the session identifier. To do.

The communication message classifying unit 16h classifies the communication messages collected by the communication message log collecting unit 210 for each session specified by the session specifying unit 16g. By classifying communication messages for each session in this way, information extraction processing can be performed on a set of classified messages,
The session control function can also be used for control purposes such that a list of a plurality of sessions is presented to the user, and only the session selected by the user is visualized.

Communication message dependency relationship information generation unit 16i
Is a part for extracting and generating dependency information between communication messages classified by session by the communication message classification unit. For a set of messages associated with a specified session, gather information about various messages, such as message display elements and message dependencies, and convert the message sequence into an easy-to-process internal format. The process of extracting and generating the dependency information between communication messages by the communication message dependency information generation unit 16i will be described later.

The sequence interpreting section 16j is a section for performing an interpreting process of the communication message sequence with reference to the communication message dependency information extracted and generated by the communication message dependency information generating section 16i. Interpretation of a communication message sequence is performed, and a message information creating unit 16a and a message image display unit 16b
, The communication message can be visualized and displayed in a correct sequence.

Next, extraction of dependency information between communication messages by the communication message dependency information generation unit 16i is performed.
The generation process will be described in detail. There are a plurality of methods for extracting / generating dependency information between communication messages by the communication message dependency information generation unit 16i.

First, the process of extracting and generating the dependency information between the first communication messages by the communication message dependency relationship information generation unit 16i will be described.

[0244] Regarding messages within one session, there is a message dependency relationship. The dependencies are that one message can generate one message, one message can generate multiple messages, and conversely, multiple messages can generate one message. is there.

The first method for extracting / generating dependency information between communication messages for finding the dependency between messages is based on information indicating which message the agent processing unit 11 depends on when generating a message. To
This is a method of describing as message information. This first
In the case of adopting the method, fields as shown in FIG. 29 are defined. An identifier field of each message shown in FIG. 29 and a message identifier field of a dependency relationship which is derived from this message are newly provided. When there are a plurality of dependent sources, it can be expressed by making the list expression a value. All agents express their dependencies by describing this content in communication messages.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a general message dependency relationship.
0 is shown. In FIG. 30, upon receiving the processing start, an inquiry message 300 from the user is input to the agent for inputting a question. In response to the input of the inquiry message 300 from the user, an inquiry message 301 to the DB agent 1, an inquiry message 302 to the DB agent 2, and an inquiry message 303 to the DB agent 3 are transmitted. Here, the inquiry messages 301 to 303 depend on the inquiry message 300, and the dependence is described in the dependence message identifier field.

After waiting for an answer from the DB, an answer message 304 from the DB agent 1, an answer message 305 from the DB agent 2, and an answer message 306 from the DB agent 3 are received. Messages 304 to 306 are input. The question answering agent receives these answering messages 304 to 306, and generates an answering message 307. Here, the answer message 307 depends on the answer messages 304 to 306 from the DB agents 1 to 3, and the dependency is described in the dependency message identifier field.

Through the above processing, the agent can describe the dependency of message reception and message transmission in the dependency message identifier field in the communication message.

Communication message dependency relationship information generation unit 16i
Extracts the message dependency information described in the dependency message identifier field from the fetched message and converts the message sequence into an easy-to-process internal format so that the sequence interpreting unit 16j can interpret the sequence. I do.

In one example, a sequence element representing each process is created. For example, the sequence element relating to the message moving process has (a) a state establishment holding unit for a plurality of conditions. (B) It has an execution unit (message transfer procedure) when all states are established. (C) It has a configuration that has a link to the next sequence element and has three parts that satisfy the next condition after execution. As other sequence elements, for example,
There may be a sequence element for performing a waiting process for a predetermined time, or a sequence element for displaying a predetermined message. The connection between the individual sequence elements is indicated by using a link line for indicating the next operation.

The sequence interpreting section 16j collects information such as message contents having the above-described dependency and stores the information in a data structure on a memory so that the sequence can be interpreted. An interpreter operation is performed by using the message sequence information read into the.

Based on the interpreter operation using the message sequence information, the message information creating section 1
6a, the message is passed to the message image display unit 16b, and the message is visualized.

Next, the second method for extracting and generating dependency information between communication messages for obtaining the dependency between messages is described in the following. Is analyzed and estimated / generated. According to the second method, as shown in the first method, the agent processing unit 11
Since there is no need to store the message dependency in the message, there is an advantage that the agent processing unit 11 does not need to be changed. However, when there are complicated dependencies, it is difficult to estimate and generate message dependencies. A processing example of a method of analyzing and estimating and generating mutual dependencies from a communication message will be described below.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing a processing algorithm for analyzing and estimating / generating mutual dependencies from communication messages.

First, all messages related to each sequence are obtained (step S3101). Next, messages transmitted / received by the specific agent are collected, and the transmission / reception time is extracted from the messages (step S3).
102). Based on the extracted message transmission / reception times, the messages are grouped and arranged in chronological order (step S310).
3). Next, a continuous series of received messages is set as a single received message group, and a continuous series of transmitted messages is set as a single transmitted message group (step S3104). Next, the dependency relationship is analyzed based on the relationship before and after the received message group and the sent message group (step S3105). Typically, when a transmission message or a transmission message group comes in response to a reception message or a reception message group, the transmission message or the transmission message group is treated as having a dependency on the reception message or the reception message group. That is, if there is a state of waiting for a processing result by the agent processing unit 11 or the like, and a message of notifying the result is received and a message is transmitted, it is analyzed that there is a dependency.

Finally, the processing of the above steps S3101 to S3105 is performed for all the agents, and the dependencies are integrated (step S310).
6).

By using the above algorithm, it is possible to automatically generate a dependency between messages. Fig. 3 conceptually shows this situation.
2. FIG. 32 is a processing step S3103 of FIG.
2 shows a state in which messages 1 to 8 are arranged in chronological order. In FIG. 32, they are arranged in chronological order from left to right. In FIG. 32, a series of transmission messages 2 to 4 are continuous, and are grouped together in step S3104 in FIG. Similarly, a series of received message 5 to received message 7 are grouped together. Next, step S3 in FIG.
At 105, message dependencies are analyzed. In the example of FIG. 32, transmission message 2 to transmission message 4
Can be determined to have a dependency on the received message 1. The transmission message 8 is composed of the reception messages 5 to 5.
It can be determined that there is a message dependency on the received message 7.

The message sequence elements extracted and generated by the communication message dependency relation information generation unit 16i include not only elements for displaying messages, but also message sequences for expressing the state of waiting for transmission and reception of these dependent messages. Elements may be extracted and generated. In the example of FIG. 32, after transmitting the transmission message 2 to the transmission message 4, a message sequence element representing a state of waiting for all the reception messages 5 to 7 to be received is generated. It should be noted that a certain waiting time for inserting a sequence element as a waiting state can be set as a condition. For example, a certain threshold is set for the time difference calculated from the message transmission / reception time,
Only when a wait time exceeding this threshold occurs, a sequence element representing the wait state may be generated.

According to the above-described method for extracting / generating dependency information between communication messages in the communication message dependency relationship information generation unit 16i, which analyzes and estimates / generates a dependency from communication messages, as described above, the agent Estimate and generate dependencies between messages without having to change existing features of

As described above, in the message visualization device of the tenth embodiment, the communication message log information collection unit is provided, so that each agent can send a communication message to the inter-message visualization device in the form of communication message log information according to a predefined format. Only the information is output, and the inter-message visualization device visualizes the message based on the information, so that the reliability and performance of the inter-message visualization device do not affect the entire multi-agent system. Further, a message visualization process according to a message sequence can be executed based on the message dependency.

(Embodiment 11) The agent-to-agent message visualizing device according to Embodiment 11 allows an explanation of the processing of each agent to be added to an arbitrary message. Here, the description added to the processing of each agent is referred to as agent state / action expression text information indicating the internal state / action of the agent.

FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the communication message log collection unit 210 and the message display processing unit 16 of the multi-agent system according to the eleventh embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 33, message display processing unit 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a message information creation unit 16a, a message image display unit 16b, a message image DB 16c, a movement timing generation unit 16d, a session designation unit 16g, a communication message classification unit 16h, a communication message dependency relationship information generation unit 16i, and a sequence interpretation unit 16j. In addition, an agent state / action expression text information extraction unit 16k is provided.

The message information creation unit 16a, message image display unit 16b, message image DB 16c, movement timing generation unit 16d, session designation unit 16g, communication message classification unit 16h, communication message dependency relationship information generation unit 16i, and sequence interpretation unit 16j This is the same as that described in the first embodiment, the tenth embodiment, and the like, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

The agent status / action expression text information extraction unit 16k extracts the agent status / action expression text information included in the communication message log information,
This is a part for generating a sequence element for displaying the agent state / action expression text information.

Each agent processing unit 11 includes agent status / operation expression text information indicating the internal status / operation of the agent in the communication message log information passed to the communication message log collection unit 210. FIG.
Reference numeral 4 denotes an example of a field provided by the agent processing unit 11 for providing agent state / action expression text information in a message.

The communication message with the description based on the agent status / action expression text information as shown in FIG. 34 is extracted by the agent status / action expression text information extracting unit 16k. The agent status / action expression text information extraction unit 16k passes the extracted agent status / action expression text information to the communication message dependency information generation unit 16i, and the communication message dependency information generation unit 1
6i generates a sequence element for displaying the agent state / action expression text information.

The sequence interpreter 16j collects the communication message log information including the above-mentioned agent state / operation expression text information and stores it in a data structure on a memory so that the sequence can be interpreted. Then, an interpreter operation is performed by using the message sequence information read on the memory.

On the basis of the interpreter operation using the message sequence information, the message information creating section 1
6a, the message is passed to the message image display unit 16b, and a message visualization process including a visualization process of the agent state / action expression text is executed.

The sequence interpreting section 16j generates a sequence element for deleting the displayed agent state / action expression text in response to generation of the sequence element for displaying the agent state / action expression text. Can be. For example, when a message accompanied by the display of the agent state / action expression text is received and there is a message displayed with a dependency, a sequence element for deleting the display of the agent state / action expression text is generated. Based on the interpreter operation by the sequence interpreter 16j, the message image display 1
6b executes a process of deleting the agent state / action expression text displayed in the display area.

According to the inter-agent message visualization device of the eleventh embodiment, an agent status / action expression text, which is an explanation of the processing of each agent, can be added to an arbitrary message.

(Twelfth Embodiment) The inter-agent message visualization device of the twelfth embodiment has a function of visualizing a message only for communication message log information relating to a designated user.

In the twelfth embodiment, a user identifier is used as one means for distinguishing communication message log information relating to a designated user from communication message log information relating to another user. The user identifier information is user ID information that is set for each user and indicates which user the message is transmitted / received. In the example of the twelfth embodiment, in order to have this user identifier information in each communication message log information, each agent itself includes the communication message in the communication message log information passed to the communication message log collection unit. Include the user identifier information of the sending user. To describe the user identifier information, an additional field as shown in FIG. 35 is included in the communication message. This user identifier information needs to be described in the message at the time of starting from the user, and when all the agents mediate the communication message, the user identifier information attached to the received message is added to the transmission message. Need to have the ability to In this way, the communication message log information is configured to include the user identifier information.

FIG. 36 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the communication message log collection unit 210 and the message display processing unit 16 of the multi-agent system according to the twelfth embodiment.

In FIG. 36, message display processing section 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a message information creation unit 16a, a message image display unit 16b, a message image DB 16c, a movement timing generation unit 16d, a session designation unit 16g, a communication message classification unit 16h, a communication message dependency relationship information generation unit 16i, and a sequence interpretation unit 16j. In addition, a visualization user identifier designation unit 16m and a user identifier determination unit 16n are provided.

The message information creation section 16a, message image display section 16b, message image DB 16c, movement timing generation section 16d, session designation section 16g, communication message classification section 16h, communication message dependency relation information generation section 16i, and sequence interpretation section 16j This is the same as that described in the first embodiment, the tenth embodiment, and the like, and a description thereof will not be repeated.

[0277] The visualization user identifier designating section 16m is a portion for designating a user who is to visualize a communication message, and designates a user identifier. Only the communication message log information having the user identifier specified by the visualized user identifier specifying unit 16m is subjected to the message visualization processing.

The user identifier determining unit 16n determines and extracts communication message log information having the user identifier designated by the visualized user identifier designating unit 16m from the communication message log information passed from the communication message log collecting unit 210. Part. Since all communication message log information is provided with a user identifier by each agent, the user identifier determination unit 16n can determine and extract a user having a predetermined user identifier.

The communication message log information determined / extracted by the user identifier determination unit 16n is passed to the communication message dependency information generation unit 16i, and the communication message dependency information generation unit 16i checks only the specified communication message log information. The sequence interpreter 16j extracts and generates a message sequence element necessary for visualizing the communication message based on the communication message log. The interpreter operation is executed by using the message sequence information stored in the above data structure and read into the memory.

Based on the interpreter operation using the message sequence information, the message information creating unit 1
6a, only the communication message log information which is passed to the message image display unit 16b and has the user identifier for the user designated by the visualized user identifier designation unit is visualized.

As described above, according to the inter-agent message visualization device of the twelfth embodiment, based on the user identifier, the message can be visualized only for the communication message log information relating to the specified user. Also, by selecting a message to be subjected to this message visualization processing based on the user identifier information,
User privacy can also be protected.

(Embodiment 13) The inter-agent message visualization device of Embodiment 13 is provided with a monitor agent for monitoring a communication message between agents. For example, a monitor agent for monitoring the communication message is provided for each agent. For example, there is a monitor provided with a monitor agent for monitoring a communication message for each user. By providing a monitor agent, it is possible to provide a means for collecting communication message log information at a timing close to real time, in addition to a method of collecting communication message log information via a file, that is, collecting the communication message log information via a file. The message can be visualized only for the communication message log information collected by the monitored monitor agent.

There are a plurality of methods for monitoring a communication message between agents by providing a monitor agent.

The first method is a method of constructing a unique communication function. This is realized by providing each agent with a unique communication function for notifying the monitor agent of the content of the communication message so that the monitor agent can monitor the communication message. However, each agent needs to be modified.

The second method is a method in which a monitor agent is provided by extending an existing agent message communication function. According to this method, there is no need to significantly modify each agent. CORBA (The Common Object Reque
st Broker: Architecture and Specification). In CORBA, each agent is an IDL
Communication between agents is performed according to an interface definition language called (Interface Definition Language). Here, a method of passing a character string representing an ACL to a communication destination program that can be identified by an agent name,
It is assumed that communication between agents is realized.

Each agent knows the name of the agent functioning as a monitor agent, and when transmitting a message, also transmits log information of a communication message to the monitor agent. This allows the monitor agent to monitor the communication message log information, and collects and logs the communication message log information according to the usage pattern.
Let it accumulate. Here, it is necessary to distinguish the communication message for monitoring to the monitor agent itself from the communication message between normal agents. If not distinguished, the monitor communication message and the normal agent communication message are mixed. For this reason, a special description is included in the character string of the monitor communication message. For example, a tag as shown in FIG. 37A is included in the header of the monitor communication message. Also, a message format for specifying monitor start by the monitor agent as shown in FIG. 37B and a message format for specifying monitor end by the monitor agent as shown in FIG. 37C are defined. In this way, by including a special description in the character string of the monitor communication message,
The communication function used in the normal agent-to-agent communication can be extended to realize a communication message monitoring function by the monitor agent.

It should be noted that a plurality of units can be assumed as targets for monitoring the communication message by the monitor agent.

The first is to provide only one monitor agent and monitor all communication messages between agents on the network.

Second, a monitor agent is provided for each agent or each agent group within a certain range. By monitoring and accumulating the communication message log information for each agent or each agent group as described above, the targets for visualizing the message can be easily limited for each agent. FIG. 38 is a diagram showing an example in which a monitor agent is provided for each agent. As shown in FIG. 38, a visualization agent specifying unit 211 for specifying an agent for visualizing a message is provided.
Is provided in the communication message log collection unit 210, for example, and the communication message log collection unit 210 collects log information of communication messages by specifying the monitor agent 300 corresponding to the agent unit specified by the visualization agent specification unit 211, The designated agent 1
The message visualization processing can be executed by the message information creating unit 16a and the message image display unit 16b only for the communication message log information related to 00.

Third, a monitor agent is provided for each user or each user group within a certain range. By monitoring and accumulating the communication message log information for each user or each user group in this way, the target for visualizing the message can be easily limited for each user. FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an example in which a monitor agent is provided for each user. As shown in FIG. 39, a visualization user specification unit 212 for specifying a user who visualizes a message
Is provided in, for example, the communication message log collection unit 210, and the communication message log collection unit 210 collects log information of communication messages by specifying the monitor agent 300 corresponding to the user unit specified by the visualization user specification unit 212. Only the communication message log information relating to the designated user can execute the message visualization processing by the message information creation unit 16a and the message image display unit 16b.

(Embodiment 14) The inter-agent message visualization device of Embodiment 14 has a function of executing communication message visualization processing of a plurality of sessions in parallel and displaying message icons in parallel on a display screen. It is.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the communication message log collection unit 210 and the message display processing unit 16 of the multi-agent system.
7 may be the same.

In the fourteenth embodiment, visualization of communication messages of a plurality of sessions is performed in parallel.
The sequence interpreting unit 16j has a function of performing interpreter processing of communication message sequences of a plurality of sessions in parallel. The message information creating unit 16a and the message image display unit 16b of the message visualizing unit 16
Has a function of displaying message icons in parallel on the display screen in synchronization with the interpretation of a plurality of communication message sequences by the sequence interpretation unit 16j.

As described above, since the sequence interpreting section 16j can execute the interpreter processing of the communication message sequence of a plurality of sessions in parallel, the message sequence elements are independently generated for each session by the message information creating section 16a and the message image display section 16b. Since the message information creation unit 16a and the message image display unit 16b have a function of independently displaying a message icon on a display screen for each session, the process of visualizing communication messages of a plurality of sessions can be performed. Can be executed in parallel.

In performing the communication message visualization processing for a plurality of sessions, the message information creation unit 16a and the message image display unit 16b are designed to make it easier for the user to grasp the flow and state of the communication message in each session. It is preferable to provide a function for changing the shape or color of the message icon to be visualized and displayed for each session and each user.

[0296]

As described above, according to the agent-to-agent message visualization device of the present invention, the agent operating in the multi-agent system is displayed on the display screen as an agent icon, and the agent icon of the source agent of the message is displayed. By displaying a message icon between the transmission destination agent and the agent icon, the flow of messages between the agents can also be visualized. As a result, it is possible to provide an inter-agent message visualization device which can easily demonstrate the cooperative operation between agents in a multi-agent system and is also effective for debugging the multi-agent system.

According to the inter-agent message visualization device of the present invention, by providing the communication message log information collecting unit, each agent can execute the inter-message visualization device in the form of communication message log information in accordance with a predefined format. Only to output the communication message information to the message visualization device, since the message is visualized based on the information,
The reliability and performance of the inter-message visualization device do not affect the entire multi-agent system. Further, a message visualization process according to a message sequence can be executed based on the message dependency.

With respect to the description of the inter-agent message visualization device of the present invention, the following items are further disclosed.

(1) An input device for selecting an agent icon on the display screen, selection menu display means for displaying a selection menu for changing a display mode of the agent icon selected by the input device, and the selection menu According to the operator's instructions input from
2. The inter-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, further comprising: definition information updating means for updating agent icon definition information held by said agent visualization means.

(2) The multi-agent system includes a communication server that controls message communication between agents, and further includes monitoring means for monitoring the exchange of messages between agents in the communication server, and the message visualizing means. The agent-to-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, wherein a message icon is displayed based on information obtained from the monitor means.

(3) The multi-agent system includes a monitor agent for mediating exchange of messages between agents, and the message visualizing means displays a message icon based on information obtained from the monitor agent. The message visualization device between agents according to the above.

(4) Each of the agents of the multi-agent system includes a monitor unit for acquiring message information in a message transmitting / receiving unit for transmitting / receiving a message, and the message visualizing unit converts the information obtained from the monitor unit 2. The inter-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, wherein a message icon is displayed based on the message icon.

(5) When an agent is added to the multi-agent system, information on the added agent is obtained from the agent name management means, and agent icon definition information of the added agent is created. 2. The agent-to-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, further comprising: agent icon definition creating means for adding to the agent icon definition information held by the visualizing means.

(6) The agent icon definition creation means includes menu display means for displaying a menu for allowing the operator to select a display mode of the agent icon of the added agent, and the operator icon definition created by the operator is input from the menu. The inter-agent message visualization device according to (5), which creates agent icon definition information of the added agent according to the instruction.

(7) When an agent is deleted from the multi-agent system, the agent icon definition information of the deleted agent is deleted from the agent icon definition information held by the agent visualizing means. The agent-to-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, further comprising means.

(8) When the agent is deleted from the multi-agent system, the agent icon of the deleted agent is displayed in a different form in the agent icon definition information held by the agent visualization means. The agent-to-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, further comprising an agent icon definition changing unit that changes definition information.

(9) Each of the agents includes, in the communication message log information passed to the communication message log collection unit, dependency information between communication messages, and the communication message dependency information generation unit transmits the communication message log information to the communication message log collection unit. 7. The message visualization device between agents according to claim 6, which extracts and generates communication message dependency relationship information included in the log information.

(10) The message visualizing device between agents according to claim 13, wherein the message visualizing unit has a function of changing a shape or a color of a message icon to be visualized and displayed for each session and each user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a multi-agent system with a message visualization function according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which an agent is visualized by an agent icon on a display screen of the multi-agent system according to the first embodiment;

FIGS. 3A to 3C are examples of a state in which a message exchanged between agents is visualized by an animated message icon on a display screen of the multi-agent system according to the first embodiment; Is an explanatory diagram showing the progress of time

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which a message is visualized by a message icon displayed as a still image on a display screen of the multi-agent system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an agent display processing unit provided in the multi-agent system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of agent icon definition information defining various parameters for displaying an agent icon in the multi-agent system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a message display processing unit provided in the multi-agent system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a timing chart for displaying an animation of a message icon in the multi-agent system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a message icon by a still image display in the multi-agent system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an agent display processing unit provided in the multi-agent system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a relationship between a menu window displayed when an agent icon is clicked and a menu displayed in accordance with a selection item of the menu window in the multi-agent system according to the second embodiment. Illustration

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a connection form between hosts in a multi-agent system according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams respectively showing an example of the structure of an agent name management table provided in the communication server shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration for visualizing a message together with a message flow in the multi-agent system according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of two agents that transmit and receive a message via a monitor agent in a multi-agent system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a message display processing unit provided in a multi-agent system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

17 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a message content creation unit in the message display processing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a message display processing unit provided in a multi-agent system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a message history creating unit in the message display processing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an agent display processing unit provided in a multi-agent system according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

21 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a count processing unit in the agent display processing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an agent display processing unit provided in a multi-agent system according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is an illustration showing an example of a condition definition inserted in a program describing an operation procedure of an agent in order to display a description of the processing content of the agent in the multi-agent system according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. Figure

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a transmission message in the multi-agent system according to the ninth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a case where processing of the multi-agent system and processing of the inter-agent message visualization device are provided without being separated;

FIG. 26 is a view for explaining a basic principle in which processing of the multi-agent system and processing of the inter-agent message visualization device are provided separately.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a communication message log collection unit 210 and a message display processing unit 16 of the multi-agent system according to the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a view for explaining a field definition for describing information of a session identifier.

FIG. 29 is a view for explaining a field definition for describing a dependency relationship between messages;

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a general message dependency relationship;

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing a processing algorithm for analyzing and estimating / generating mutual dependencies from a communication message;

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a conceptual representation of a dependency relationship between messages;

FIG. 33 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a communication message log collection unit 210 and a message display processing unit 16 of the multi-agent system according to the eleventh embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a field provided by the agent processing unit 11 to add agent state / action expression text information to a message.

FIG. 35 is a view for explaining the definition of a field for describing user identifier information.

FIG. 36 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a communication message log collection unit 210 and a message display processing unit 16 of the multi-agent system according to the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 37 explains (a) a special description format provided in a character string of a communication message for monitoring, (b) a message format for specifying monitor start by the monitor agent, and (c) a message format for specifying monitor end by the monitor agent. Figure

FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a monitor agent is provided for each agent according to the thirteenth embodiment.

FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a monitor agent is provided for each user according to the thirteenth embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Agent processing unit 12 Agent name management unit 13 Message communication unit 14 Message queue management unit 15 Agent display processing unit 16 Message display processing unit 17 Display screen 23/24 Agent icon 25 Message icon 27 Arrow graphic 31/32 Host 33/34 Communication Server 35 Message transmission unit 36 Message reception unit 37 Monitor agent 41 Menu window 42 File operation menu 43 Edit menu 44 Attribute edit menu

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Ryusuke Masuoka 4-1-1, Kamidadanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Fujitsu Limited (72) Toshiaki Yoshino 4-1-1, Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture No. 1 Fujitsu Limited F term (reference) 5B045 BB53 GG01 JJ02 JJ08 JJ14 5B089 GB08 JB01 KA02 LB14 5E501 AC25 AC35 BA03 CA02 DA01 DA02 EB13 EB15 EB17 FA04 FA10 FA13 FA46 FB22

Claims (13)

[Claims] An inter-agent message visualization device provided in a multi-agent system in which a plurality of agents cooperate by performing asynchronous communication of messages to visualize messages exchanged between agents on a display screen. An agent name management unit in which an agent on the multi-agent system is registered; an agent visualization unit that acquires information about the agent from the agent name management unit and displays an agent icon representing the agent on the display screen; When a message is sent and received between agents, the source and destination agent names of the message are obtained, and the message flow is sent between the agent icons of the agents that sent and received the message. And a message visualizing means for displaying a message icon representing the message on the display screen. 2. A message content storage unit for acquiring and temporarily storing the content of a message transmitted from an agent, an input device for selecting a message icon on the display screen, and a message icon selected by the input device. 2. The agent-to-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, further comprising: a message content display unit that acquires the content of the message from the message content storage unit and displays the message content on the display screen. 3. A message history storage unit that stores history information including at least one of the message sent and received message of each agent, an input device for selecting an agent icon on the display screen, and the input. 2. The agent-to-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, further comprising: a message history display unit configured to acquire the history information regarding the agent of the agent icon selected by the device and display the contents of past transmission messages or reception messages. 3. 4. An agent that receives a processing request message, executes processing and transmits a processing result as a message, and an agent that transmits a processing request message to another agent and receives a processing result as a message. A counter holding unit having a counter for calculating a difference between the number of transmitted messages and the number of received messages for each agent; and determining an operation state of the agent based on a counter value of the counter holding unit; The inter-agent message visualization device according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit for notifying, wherein the agent visualization unit changes a display mode of an agent icon according to a determination result notified from the determination unit. 5. The agent-to-agent message visualization according to claim 1, further comprising an explanation display means for displaying a prescribed explanation on the display screen when a message transmitted or received by the agent meets a prescribed condition. apparatus. 6. A communication message log collecting unit that collects log information of communication messages of individual agents, a session specifying unit that specifies a group of messages required to realize a certain function between agents, and the communication message log. A communication message classifying unit for classifying the communication messages collected by the collecting unit for each of the designated sessions; and a communication message dependency for extracting and generating dependency information between the communication messages classified for each session by the communication message classifying unit. An information generating unit, comprising a sequence interpreting unit that performs an interpreter process of the communication message sequence by referring to the dependency information of the communication message, wherein the message visualizing unit synchronizes with the communication message sequence interpretation by the sequence interpreting unit. And the display Agent between messages visualization apparatus according to claim 1 for displaying the message icon plane. 7. Each communication agent includes communication time information of each communication message in communication message log information to be passed to the communication message log collection unit, and the communication message dependency information generation unit includes: The communication message communication time information included in the log information is extracted, the reception message and the transmission message are arranged for each agent in the chronological order, and dependency information on the transmission message group appearing after the reception message group with respect to the reception message group The inter-agent message visualization device according to claim 6, wherein: 8. Each communication agent includes communication time information of each communication message in communication message log information to be passed to the communication message log collection unit, and the communication message dependency information generation unit includes: Extracts the communication message communication time information included in the log information, calculates the time difference between the received message and the transmitted message for each agent, and generates a sequence element of wait information that represents the time required for the internal processing of the agent The sequence interpreting unit, when a sequence element of the waiting information is included in the communication message log information,
7. The inter-agent message visualization device according to claim 6, wherein a waiting process for a predetermined time is added in the sequence interpretation. 9. An agent according to claim 1, wherein said communication message log information passed to said communication message log collection unit includes agent state / operation expression text information indicating an internal state / operation of the agent, The information generation unit extracts the agent state / action expression text information included in the communication message log information, and
The sequence interpreting unit generates a sequence element for displaying action expression text information, and the sequence interpreting unit, when the communication message log information includes the sequence element for displaying the agent state / action expression text information, performs the sequence interpretation. The inter-agent message visualization device according to claim 6, further comprising a process of displaying an agent state / action expression text. 10. Each of the agents includes, in the communication message log information passed to the communication message log collection unit, user identifier information indicating a message transmitted and received by which user, and visualizes the communication message. A visualization user identifier designating unit for designating a user identifier to be performed, wherein the message visualization unit visualizes only the communication message log information having a user identifier for the user designated by the visualization user identifier designation unit. Item 7. An agent-to-agent message visualization device according to item 6. 11. A monitor agent having a function of storing communication message information obtained by monitoring communication message information of the agent as communication message log information for each agent, and visualizing the communication message. The communication message log collection unit collects communication message log information from a monitor agent for the agent specified by the visualization agent specification unit, and the message visualization unit includes: 7. The inter-agent message visualization device according to claim 6, wherein only the communication message for the agent specified by the visualization agent specification unit is visualized. 12. For each user, a monitor agent having a function of storing communication message information obtained by monitoring communication message information of an agent used by the user as communication message log information is provided. The communication message log collecting unit collects communication message log information from a monitor agent for the user specified by the visualizing user specifying unit, and includes a visualizing user specifying unit that specifies a user to be visualized. The inter-agent message visualization device according to claim 6, wherein the unit visualizes only a communication message by the user specified by the visualization user specification unit. 13. The sequence interpreting unit has a function of performing interpreting processing of communication message sequences of a plurality of sessions in parallel, and the message visualizing unit synchronizes with a plurality of communication message sequence interpretations by the sequence interpreting unit. hand,
The agent-to-agent message visualization device according to claim 6, further comprising a function of displaying the message icons in parallel on the display screen.