Package madkit.kernel

Class Agent

java.lang.Object
madkit.kernel.AbstractAgent
madkit.kernel.Agent
All Implemented Interfaces:
Comparable<AbstractAgent>
Direct Known Subclasses:
Scheduler
public class Agent extends AbstractAgent
The super class of all MaDKit threaded agents, v 5. It provides support for
  • Agent's Life cycle, logging, and naming.
  • Agent launching and killing.
  • Artificial society creation and management.
  • Messaging.
  • Minimal graphical interface management.
Since:
MaDKit 1.0
Version:
5.0.2
Author:
Fabien Michel, Olivier Gutknecht

  • Constructor Details

    • Agent

      public Agent(boolean isDaemon)

    • Agent

      public Agent()

  • Method Details

    • setThreadPriority

      public void setThreadPriority(int newPriority)
      Changes the priority of the agent's thread. This should be used only starting from the AbstractAgent.activate() to have a concrete effect. Default priority is set to Thread.NORM_PRIORITY - 1 to ensure swing responsiveness.
      Parameters:
      newPriority - priority to set this thread to
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - If the priority is not in the range Thread.MIN_PRIORITY to Thread.MAX_PRIORITY.
      SecurityException - if the current thread cannot modify this thread.
      Since:
      MadKit 5.0.1
      See Also:

    • getThreadPriority

      public int getThreadPriority()
      Returns this thread's priority.
      Returns:
      this thread's priority for this agent.
      Since:
      MadKit 5.0.1
      See Also:

    • isDaemon

      public boolean isDaemon()
      Tells if the agent is a daemon.
      Returns:
      true if the agent is a Daemon
      Since:
      MaDKit 5.0.0.9

    • live

      protected void live()
      This method corresponds to the second behavior which is called by the MaDKit kernel when a threaded agent is launched (i.e. an agent which subclasses this class). Usually, this is the place where all the agent's work lies. Most of the time, this work is about waiting for a message and thus treat it as it should be.

      Here is a typical example: 

              @Override
        protected void live()
        {
                while(true){
                        Message m = waitNextMessage();
                        handleMessage(m); //a private method that does the appropriate job 
        }
        }

    • killAgent

      public AbstractAgent.ReturnCode killAgent(AbstractAgent target, int timeOutSeconds)
      Description copied from class: AbstractAgent
      Kills the targeted agent. The kill process stops the agent's life cycle but allows it to process its AbstractAgent.end() method until the time out elapsed.

      If the target is in the activate or live method (Agent subclasses), it will be brutally stop and then proceed its end method.

      The method returns only when the targeted agent actually ends its life. So if the target contains a infinite loop, the caller can be blocked. Using a timeout thus ensures that the caller will be blocked only a certain amount of time. Using 0 as timeout will stop the target as soon as possible, eventually brutally stop its life cycle. In such a case, if its end method has not been started, it will never run.

      Overrides:
      killAgent in class AbstractAgent
      Returns:

    • sendMessageAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendMessageAndWaitForReply(AgentAddress receiver, Message messageToSend)
      Sends a message and waits indefinitely for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(receiver, messageToSend, null, null)
      Parameters:
      receiver - the targeted agent by the send.
      messageToSend - the message to send.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if there was an error when sending the message.
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendMessageAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendMessageAndWaitForReply(AgentAddress receiver, Message messageToSend, int timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Sends a message and waits for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(receiver, messageToSend, null, timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Parameters:
      receiver - the targeted agent by the send.
      messageToSend - the message to send.
      timeOutMilliSeconds - the maximum time to wait. If null the agent will wait indefinitely.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if the time out has elapsed or if there was an error when sending the message.
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(AgentAddress receiver, Message messageToSend, String senderRole)
      Sends a message and waits for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(receiver, messageToSend, senderRole, null)
      Parameters:
      receiver - the targeted agent by the send.
      messageToSend - the message to send.
      senderRole - the role with which the sending is done.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if the time out has elapsed or if there was an error when sending the message.
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(AgentAddress receiver, Message messageToSend, String senderRole, Integer timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Sends a message and waits for an answer to it. Additionally, the sending is done using a specific role for the sender.
      Parameters:
      receiver - the targeted agent by the send.
      messageToSend - the message to send.
      senderRole - the role with which the sending is done.
      timeOutMilliSeconds - the maximum time to wait. If null the agent will wait indefinitely.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if the time out has elapsed or if there was an error when sending the message, that is any AbstractAgent.ReturnCode different from AbstractAgent.ReturnCode.SUCCESS (see AbstractAgent.sendMessageWithRole(AgentAddress, Message, String)).
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendMessageAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendMessageAndWaitForReply(String community, String group, String role, Message messageToSend)
      Sends a message to an agent having this position in the organization and waits indefinitely for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(community, group, role, messageToSend, null, null)
      Parameters:
      community - the community name
      group - the group name
      role - the role name
      messageToSend - the message to send. If null the agent will wait indefinitely.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if there was an error when sending the message.
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(String community, String group, String role, Message messageToSend, String senderRole)
      Sends a message to an agent having this position in the organization and waits indefinitely for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(community, group, role, messageToSend, senderRole, null)
      Parameters:
      community - the community name
      group - the group name
      role - the role name
      messageToSend - the message to send.
      senderRole - the role with which the sending is done. If null the agent will wait indefinitely.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if there was an error when sending the message.
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendMessageAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendMessageAndWaitForReply(String community, String group, String role, Message messageToSend, int timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Sends a message to an agent having this position in the organization and waits for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(community, group, role, messageToSend, null, timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Parameters:
      community - the community name
      group - the group name
      role - the role name
      messageToSend - the message to send.
      timeOutMilliSeconds - the maximum time to wait. If null the agent will wait indefinitely.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if the time out has elapsed or if there was an error when sending the message.
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReply(String community, String group, String role, Message messageToSend, String senderRole, Integer timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Sends a message to an agent having this position in the organization and waits for an answer to it. The targeted agent is selected randomly among matched agents. The sender is excluded from this search.
      Parameters:
      community - the community name
      group - the group name
      role - the role name
      messageToSend - the message to send.
      senderRole - the role with which the sending is done.
      timeOutMilliSeconds - the maximum time to wait. If null the agent will wait indefinitely.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if the time out has elapsed or if there was an error when sending the message.
      Since:
      MaDKit 5

    • sendReplyAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendReplyAndWaitForReply(Message messageToReplyTo, Message reply)
      Sends a reply message and waits indefinitely for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendReplyWithRoleAndWaitForReply(messageToReplyTo, reply, null, null).
      Parameters:
      messageToReplyTo - the original message previously received.
      reply - the new message.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available.
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendReplyAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendReplyAndWaitForReply(Message messageToReplyTo, Message reply, int timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Sends a reply message and waits for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendReplyWithRoleAndWaitForReply(messageToReplyTo, reply, null, timeOutMilliSeconds).
      Parameters:
      messageToReplyTo - the original message previously received
      reply - the new message
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendReplyWithRoleAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendReplyWithRoleAndWaitForReply(Message messageToReplyTo, Message reply, String senderRole)
      Sends a reply message and waits indefinitely for an answer to it. This has the same effect as sendReplyWithRoleAndWaitForReply(messageToReplyTo, reply, senderRole, null).
      Parameters:
      messageToReplyTo - the original message previously received
      reply - the new message
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • sendReplyWithRoleAndWaitForReply

      public Message sendReplyWithRoleAndWaitForReply(Message messageToReplyTo, Message reply, String senderRole, Integer timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Sends a reply message and waits for an answer to it. Additionally, the reply is done using a specific role for the sender.
      Parameters:
      messageToReplyTo - the original message previously received
      reply - the reply message.
      senderRole - the role with which the reply is sent.
      timeOutMilliSeconds - the maximum time to wait. If null the agent will wait indefinitely.
      Returns:
      the reply received as soon as available, or null if the time out has elapsed or if there was an error when sending the reply, that is any AbstractAgent.ReturnCode different from AbstractAgent.ReturnCode.SUCCESS (see AbstractAgent.sendReplyWithRole(Message, Message, String)).
      Since:
      MaDKit 5
      See Also:

    • broadcastMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReplies

      public List<Message> broadcastMessageWithRoleAndWaitForReplies(String community, String group, String role, Message message, String senderRole, Integer timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Broadcasts a message and wait for answers considering a timeout duration.
      Parameters:
      community -
      group -
      role -
      message -
      senderRole -
      timeOutMilliSeconds -
      Returns:
      a list of messages which are answers to the message which has been broadcasted.

    • waitNextMessage

      public Message waitNextMessage()
      This method is the blocking version of nextMessage(). If there is no message in the mailbox, it suspends the agent life until a message is received
      Returns:
      the first received message
      See Also:

    • waitNextMessage

      public Message waitNextMessage(long timeOutMilliseconds)
      This method gets the next message of the mailbox or waits for a new incoming message considering a certain delay.
      Parameters:
      timeOutMilliseconds - the maximum time to wait, in milliseconds.
      Returns:
      the first message in the mailbox, or null if no message has been received before the time out delay is elapsed

    • waitNextMessage

      public Message waitNextMessage(MessageFilter filter)
      Retrieves and removes the next message that complies with the filter, waiting for ever if necessary until a matching message becomes available.
      Parameters:
      filter -
      Returns:
      the first received message that matches the filter

    • waitNextMessage

      public Message waitNextMessage(Integer timeOutMilliseconds, MessageFilter filter)
      This method gets the next message of the mailbox or waits for a new incoming acceptable message up to a certain delay.
      Parameters:
      timeOutMilliseconds - the maximum time to wait, in milliseconds.
      filter -
      Returns:
      a message that matches or null otherwise.

    • pause

      protected void pause(int milliSeconds)
      Stops the agent's process for a while.
      Parameters:
      milliSeconds - the number of milliseconds for which the agent should pause.

    • waitAnswer

      public Message waitAnswer(Message query)
      Retrieves and removes the next message that is a reply to the query message, waiting for ever if necessary until a matching reply becomes available.
      Parameters:
      query - the message for which a reply is waited for
      Returns:
      the first reply to the query message
      Since:
      MadKit 5.0.4

    • waitAnswer

      public Message waitAnswer(Message query, Integer timeOutMilliSeconds)
      Retrieves and removes the next message that is a reply to the query message, waiting for ever if necessary until a matching reply becomes available.
      Parameters:
      query - the message for which a reply is waited for
      timeOutMilliSeconds - the maximum time to wait, in milliseconds.
      Returns:
      the first reply to the query message
      Since:
      MadKit 5.0.4