gov.nasa.arc.brahms.vm.api.common
Interface IAgent

All Superinterfaces:

IActiveConcept, IActiveInstance, IConcept, IType, IUserDefinedType

public interface IAgent
extends IActiveInstance

An agent in Brahms is the most central construct in a Brahms model. An agent represents an interactive system, a subject with behavior interacting with the world. An agent can for example represent a person in an organization, but could also represent an animal in a forest. A Brahms model is always about the activities of agents in a work process.

Version:

10 February 2004

Author:

Ron van Hoof

Field Summary

Fields inherited from interface gov.nasa.arc.brahms.vm.api.common.IUserDefinedType

UDT

Method Summary

IExternalAgent	getExternalImplementation() Returns the external agent implementation, the Java object implementing the IExternalAgent interface.
boolean	isExternal() Indicates whether this agent is an external agent implemented in Java.

Methods inherited from interface gov.nasa.arc.brahms.vm.api.common.IActiveInstance

acquireMemoryReference, assertBelief, assertBeliefs, deregisterForMonitoring, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBelief, getBeliefForIndex, getBeliefForIndex, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, getBeliefs, registerForMonitoring, releaseMemoryReference, retractBelief

Methods inherited from interface gov.nasa.arc.brahms.vm.api.common.IActiveConcept

hasThoughtframes, hasWorkframes

Methods inherited from interface gov.nasa.arc.brahms.vm.api.common.IConcept

getAttribute, getAttributes, getRelation, getRelations, isLocal

Methods inherited from interface gov.nasa.arc.brahms.vm.api.common.IType

getName, getType

Method Detail

isExternal

boolean isExternal()
                   throws ExternalException

Indicates whether this agent is an external agent implemented in Java.

Returns:

boolean true if it is an external agent implemented in Java, false if it is a true Brahms agent

Throws:

ExternalException - if an internal error occurs

getExternalImplementation

IExternalAgent getExternalImplementation()
                                         throws ExternalException

Returns the external agent implementation, the Java object implementing the IExternalAgent interface. This allows for Java activities to directly call upon specific services offered by the external agents using standard object oriented methods without the need to communicate explicit beliefs to the external agent. The returned implementation can be cast to the appropriate external agent implementation class.

Returns:

IExternalAgent the Java agent implementing the IExternalAgent interface

Throws:

ExternalException - if this agent is not an external agent or if this agent is a remote agent.