6.9 agents, ai, and intelligent agents 171
the context of the receiving object. Objects that share common characteristics
are grouped into classes and implemented as class objects. A number of differ-
ent relationships may be present among classes of objects.
In the agent-oriented approach, the system is viewed as a collection
of loosely coupled and interacting agents. Similar to objects, agents have
an identity, a state, and behavior, but these are much more complex than
with simple objects. For instance, an agent’s state may be described in terms
of knowledge, beliefs, desires, intentions, goals, and obligations. Its behavior
may be described in terms of plans to achieve goals, actions, and reactions to
events and ...