An agent-based layered middleware as tool integration

Corradini, Flavio and Mariani, Leonardo and Merelli, Emanuela (2004) An agent-based layered middleware as tool integration. Software Tools for Technology Transfer, Springer Journal, 6 (3).

Abstract

Tool integration is a very difficult challenge. Problems may rise at different abstraction levels and from several sources such as heterogeneity of manipulated data, incompatible interfaces or uncoordinated services - just to cite a few examples. On the other hand, applications based on the coherent composition of activities, components, services and data from heterogeneous sources are more and more present in our nowadays life. Consequently, tool integration becomes more and more significant. In this paper we analyze the tool integration problem at different abstraction levels and discuss different views on a layered software architecture that we have specifically designed for a middleware that supports the execution of distributed applications for the orchestration of human/system activities. We noticed that the agent paradigm provides a suitable technology for abstraction in tool integration. Throughout the paper, the discussion refers to a case study in the bioinformatics domain.

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