Cormas description

There exist more and more programming environments dedicated to the creation of multi-agent systems. Some of them are oriented towards communication between distributed systems, as some others are more oriented towards the building of simulation models (see links page).

The CORMAS programming environment belongs to this second category, with a specificity in the domain of natural-resources management. It provides a framework for developing simulation models of coordination modes between individuals and groups who jointly exploit the resources. This framework is structured in the following three modules (see figure).

The first module allows the definition of the entities of the system to be modeled, which are called informatics agents, and their interactions. These interactions are expressed by direct communication procedures (sending of messages) and/or by the fact of sharing the same spatial support.
The second module deals with the control of the overall dynamics (ordering of different events during a time-step of the model).
The third module allows the definition of an observation of the simulation depending on viewpoints. This feature allows the integration, within the modelling process, of representation modes.

Cormas' interface

Cormas facilitates the work of constructing a model by offering predefined elements within these three modules. Among these items are the Cormas entities, which are SmallTalk generic classes from which, by specialization and refining, the user can create entities specific to the needs of his application.

Cormas is a simulation platform based on the VisualWorks programming environment which allows the development of applications in SmallTalk.

Cormas can be downloaded. User's guides are also available. The main UML class diagrams of the Cormas kernel are available.