A prototype user interface for a distributed software engineering environment is described, where the components of the environment are autonomous agents with some inherent decision-making capabilities. Agents may be distributed across a local- or wide-area network. Two forms of interaction are supported; namely, direct manipulation and message passing. Synchronous interaction is supported via the direct manipulation of system objects. Asynchronous interaction is managed by a central server agent, distributing electronic mail messages to the appropriate human or automated agents. The functionality of the system is illustrated by examples drawn from the domain of software development
Published in:
Software Engineering Journal
(Volume:7
,
Issue:
1
)
Date of Publication: Jan 1992