single-scriptCC

A single-threaded version of AgentScriptCC agents in python.

The AgentScriptCC DSL is a language inspired by the BDI agent programming language AgentSpeak(L), and some of its extensions proposed in the Jason platform, also used in projects as LightJason, ASTRA and pyson.

The CC stands for cross-compiler: given an agent script, the output is a python program to control an agent in performing deliberations and then actions in an environment, depending on percepts.

A single-threaded version can be in principle used for:

• integrate intentional agents in a discrete-event simulator (e.g. MESA)
• having individual intentional agents running as web services or independent processes.

The agent (mind) needs to interact with a body (part of the environment) to perform actions.

Example of usage

$ scriptcc examples/robot/robot.ascript

At the moment, the script returns a Python program defining the behavioural component of the agent (see examples/robot/robot_agent_script.py).

To see how a complete running agent script would look like, see examples/robot/robot_manual_script.py

Requirements

antlr4 for the parser. if you use anaconda, do, e.g. conda install -c conda-forge antlr-python-runtime

Agent execution cycle

An agent program mimics the deliberation of a "mind". It is associated to a belief base, and maintain an intentional stack. Because we are constrained to a single thread, the program deals only with one intentional stack at a time. However, in order to maintain reactivity to external events, we consider kernel and user modes of execution (cf. operating systems), that can throw out the current intentional stack if more prioritary event occurs.

At each execution step:

• kernel mode:
  • check whether rules with priority highest than the current thread are applicable,
  • if yes, reset the intentional stack and append a new thread in it;
• user mode:
  • if there is a thread and it is unlocked
    • run the thread, performing the internal deliberation up to deciding an action, and lock the thread before initiating the action with the body,
    • if the thread ends with no further action, restarts kernel mode.