O D i M: A MODEL-DRIVEN APPROACH TO AGENT-BASED SIMULATION

Model-Driven Software Development (MDD) is a software engineering paradigm that uses models as a means to specify, test, verify and generate code for the final application. Domain-Specific Visual Languages (DSVLs) are frequently used as high-level notations to specify such models, and hence the systems to be built. In this way, developers work with concepts close to the domain, and need not be experts in lower-level notations, thus increasing productivity. In this paper we show the application of MDD to agent-based simulation. In particular we present the design of ODiM, a DSVL for Modelling and Simulation of Multi-Agent Systems. The language is made of four different diagram types, used to define agents' types, their behaviour, their sensors and actuators and the initial configuration. We have built a customized modelling environment integrated in Eclipse, and a code generator for MASON, a Java-based agent simulation language which allows the visual simulation of ODiM models.