Communication and interaction protocols for multi-agent systems in a framework based on C# and the common language infrastructure

The aim of this paper is that of defining a protocol for interaction among agents. Such a protocol has been developed within an agent programming framework, including a model of agent and a communication system among agents, implementing that protocol. Moreover a new technological approach is proposed, different with respect to traditional agent programming frameworks which fully exploit benefits coming from object-oriented programming techniques, yet they suffer from some limitations imposed by such an implementation choice. Contrary to the widely adopted use of the Java platform in most agent-based solutions and related research activity, the present work has been entirely carried on in the novel .NET framework (Microsoft Corp.) which offers technological solutions able to cope with common problems which often arise when relying on different enterprise platforms (both J2EE and Microsoft DNA). In particular this work strongly benefits from the use of the C# language in the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI).