Software Language Engineering: Interaction and Usability Modeling of Language Editors

Background: Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) are programming languages created to a specific domain that a user has pre-conceived. Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) represent a set of systems interacting within an environment, in which many intelligent agents interact with each other. Usability is a property of something that is "capable of being used"and "convenient and practicable for use". Barišic et al. introduced a conceptual framework that supports the iterative development process of DSLs concerning the usability evaluation. Semantic Web Enabled Agent Modeling Language (SEA_ML) is a DSL that supports the modeling and generation of action-based systems for MAS and the Semantic Web. It is defined by 44 visual notations. Objective: Improve SEA_ML’s usability using "The "Physics"of Notations" principles to create a new visual notation for SEA_ML. Method: (1) Participants test the current notation and the new notation on four exercises. For each exercise, a SUS questionnaire is presented. Participants should have better results on the exercises with the new notation. (2) Participants select the notations for SEA_ML. Participants receive a list with figures including the current and the new notation, alongside a set of descriptions for each of the semantic constructs of SEA_ML. Participants should select more icons from the new notation. Results: With the results gathered from each experience it is not clear that the new visual notations are better than the current notations. Limitation: The results from the guidelines were not evaluated broadly. Conclusion: The results for each experiment are not clear that the new notation is better than the current notation. This thesis is part of a scientific and technological co-operation between NOVA LINCS research center at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, and Ege University International Computer Institute, Turkey. regarding the project Developing a Framework on Evaluating Domain specific Modeling Languages for Multi-Agent Systems

Overview on agent-based social modelling and the use of formal languages

Transdisciplinary Models and Applications investigates a variety of programming languages used in validating and verifying models in order to assist in their eventual implementation. This book will explore different methods of evaluating and formalizing simulation models, enabling computer and industrial engineers, mathematicians, and students working with computer simulations to thoroughly understand the progression from simulation to product, improving the overall effectiveness of modeling systems.Postprint (author's final draft

Logic-Based Specification Languages for Intelligent Software Agents

The research field of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE) aims to find abstractions, languages, methodologies and toolkits for modeling, verifying, validating and prototyping complex applications conceptualized as Multiagent Systems (MASs). A very lively research sub-field studies how formal methods can be used for AOSE. This paper presents a detailed survey of six logic-based executable agent specification languages that have been chosen for their potential to be integrated in our ARPEGGIO project, an open framework for specifying and prototyping a MAS. The six languages are ConGoLog, Agent-0, the IMPACT agent programming language, DyLog, Concurrent METATEM and Ehhf. For each executable language, the logic foundations are described and an example of use is shown. A comparison of the six languages and a survey of similar approaches complete the paper, together with considerations of the advantages of using logic-based languages in MAS modeling and prototyping.Comment: 67 pages, 1 table, 1 figure. Accepted for publication by the Journal "Theory and Practice of Logic Programming", volume 4, Maurice Bruynooghe Editor-in-Chie

Comprehensive Security Framework for Global Threats Analysis

Cyber criminality activities are changing and becoming more and more professional. With the growth of financial flows through the Internet and the Information System (IS), new kinds of thread arise involving complex scenarios spread within multiple IS components. The IS information modeling and Behavioral Analysis are becoming new solutions to normalize the IS information and counter these new threads. This paper presents a framework which details the principal and necessary steps for monitoring an IS. We present the architecture of the framework, i.e. an ontology of activities carried out within an IS to model security information and User Behavioral analysis. The results of the performed experiments on real data show that the modeling is effective to reduce the amount of events by 91%. The User Behavioral Analysis on uniform modeled data is also effective, detecting more than 80% of legitimate actions of attack scenarios