Flexible protocol specification and execution: applying event calculus planning using commitments
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A strength of commitment protocols is that they enable agents to act flexibly, thereby enabling them to accommodate varying local policies and respond to exceptions. A consequent weakness is that commitment protocols thus fail to distinguish between possible executions that are normal and those that may be allowed but are not ideal. This paper develops an approach for specifying preferences among executions that are allowed by a protocol. It captures sets of executions via an event constraint specification language and gives them a denotational characterization based on branching-time models. This paper develops algorithms for choosing the best execution path by considering the interplay between the preference specification of a protocol and local policies of agents interacting using the protocol, thereby giving the specifications a natural operational characterization. The value of the concepts developed is illustrated by its application to a recent practical framework for protocols called OWL-P. Further, the paper shows that the operational and denotational characterizations of preference specifications coincide.