TOTA

Tuples On The Air (TOTA)

TOTA (“Tuples On The Air”) is a novel middleware infrastructure explicitly conceived as a support for distributed computing in dynamic network scenarios. The key objectives of TOTA are: (i) to promote uncoupled and adaptive interactions by locally providing application components with simple, yet highly expressive, contextual information; and (ii) to actively support adaptivity by discharging application components from the duty of dealing with network and application dynamics. To this end, TOTA relies on spatially distributed tuples, to be injected in the network and propagated accordingly to application-specific patterns. On the one hand, tuple propagation patterns are dynamically re-shaped by the TOTA middleware to implicitly reflect network and applications dynamics, as well as to reflect the evolution of coordination activities. On the other hand, application components have simply to locally “sense” tuples to acquire contextual information, to exchange information with each other, and to implicitly and adaptively orchestrate their coordination activities. To take a metaphor, we can imagine that TOTA propagates tuples the same as the laws of nature provides propagating fields in the physical space: although particles do not directly with each other and can only locally perceive such fields, they exhibit globally orchestrated and adaptive motion patterns.

TOTA Core

The spatial structures induced by tuples propagation must be maintained coherent despite network dynamism. To this end, the TOTA middleware supports tuples propagation actively and adaptively: by constantly monitoring the network local topology and the income of new tuples, the middleware automatically re-propagates tuples as soon as appropriate conditions occur. For instance, when new nodes get in touch with a network, TOTA automatically checks the propagation rules of the already stored tuples and eventually propagates the tuples to the new nodes. Similarly, when the topology changes due to nodes’ movements, the distributed tuple structure automatically changes to reflect the new topology.

TOTA Papers

BOOKS (MONOGRAPHIES)

1. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Field-Based Coordination for Pervasive Multiagent Systems, Springer Verlag, 2005

BOOK CHAPTERS

1. G. Castelli, A. Rosi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Ubiquitous Browsing of the World , The Geospatial Web, Springer Verlag, 2007.
2. N. Bicocchi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Self-Organizing Overlay Knowledge Networks for Future Pervasive Computing Applications , American Scientific Publishers, 2007.
3. G. Cabri, L. Ferrari, L. Leonardi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Uncoupling Coordination: Tuple-based Models for Mobility , invited chapter in Mobile Middleware (CRC Press, London-UK), editors Paolo Bellavista and Antonio Corradi, May 2006
4. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Field-based Approaches to Adaptive Motion Coordination in Pervasive Computing Scenarios , invited chapter in Handbook of Algorithms for Mobile and Wireless Networking and Computing, editor A. Boukerche, CRC press, Boca Raton (FL), U.S.A.
5. R. Nagpal, M. Mamei, Engineering Amorphous Computing Systems , invited chapter in Methodologies and Software Engineering for Agent Systems, The Agent-Oriented Software Engineering Handbook, pp. 303-320, editors F. Bergenti, M. P. Gleizes, F. Zambonelli, Kluwer Academic Publishing, Dordrecht, NH, 2004.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES

1. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Programming Pervasive and Mobile Computing Applications: the TOTA Approach, ACM Transaction on Software Engineering and Methodology, 2008, to appear
2. G. Castelli, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Engineering Contextual Knowledge for Autonomic Pervasive Services, International Journal of Information and Software Technology, 50(1-2), 2008, to appear.
3. M. Mamei, F.Zambonelli, Pervasive Pheromone-Based Interaction with RFID Tags, ACM Transactions on Autonomous and Adaptive Systems, 2(2):1-28, 2007.
4. E. Platon, M. Mamei, N. Sabouret, S. Honiden, V. Parunak, Mechanisms for environments in multi-agent systems: survey and opportunities , Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, Springer Verlag, 2006.
5. M. Mamei, R. Menezes, R. Tolksdorf, Case studies for self-organization in computer science , Journal of Systems Architecture, 52:443-460, Elsevier, 2006.
6. M. Baumgarten, N. Bicocchi, K. Curran, M. Mamei, M. Mulvenna, C. Nugent, F. Zambonelli, Towards Self-Organizing Knowledge Networks for Smart World Infrastructures, International Transactions on Systems Science and Applications, 1(3), 2006.
7. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Theory and Practice of Field-based Coordination for Pervasive Multiagent Systems , Journal of Applied Artificial Intelligence, 20(1):305-326, Taylor and Francis, 2006.
8. F. Zambonelli, Marie-Pierre Gleizes, M. Mamei, Robert Tolksdorf, Spray Computers: Explorations in Self-Organization , Journal of Pervasive and Mobile Computing, 1(1), 2005
9. M. Mamei, A. Roli, F. Zambonelli, Emergence and Control of Macro Spatial Structures in Perturbed Cellular Automata , and Implications for Pervasive Computing Systems, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics-Part A: Systems And Humans, IEEE CS Press, Piscataway (NJ), USA.
10. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Self-Maintained Distributed Tuples for Field-based Coordination in Dynamic Networks , Journal of Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience, Wiley, Hoboken (NJ), USA.
11. M. Mamei, M. Vasirani, F. Zambonelli, Experiments of Morphogenesis in Swarms of Simple Mobile Robots , Journal of Applied Artificial Intelligence, 18(9-10):903 – 919, Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia (PA), USA, 2004.
12. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, L. Leonardi, Co-Fields:A Physically Inspired Approach to Distributed Motion Coordination , IEEE Pervasive Computing, 3(2):52-61, IEEE CS Press, Piscataway (NJ), USA, 2004.
13. G. Cabri, L. Leonardi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Location-dependent Services for Mobile Users , IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics-Part A: Systems And Humans, 33(6):667-681, IEEE CS Press, Piscataway (NJ), USA, 2003.
14. F. Zambonelli, M. Mamei, The Cloak of Invisibility: Challenges and Applications , IEEE Pervasive Computing, 1(4):62-70, IEEE CS Press, Piscataway (NJ), USA, 2002.

INTRNATIONAL CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

1. N. Bicocchi, G. Castelli, M. Mamei, A. Rosi, F. Zambonelli, Supporting Location-Aware Services for Mobile Users with the Whereabouts Diary, International Conference on MOBILe Wireless MiddleWARE, Operating Systems, and Applications, Innsbruck, Austria, 2008.
2. G. Castelli, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Engineering Contextual Information for Pervasive Multiagent Systems, International Conference on Engineering Environment-Mediated Multiagent Systems, Dresden, Germany, 2007.
3. Rosi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, A Manzalini, Landslide Monitoring with Sensor Networks: a Case for Autonomic Communication Services, IEEE Workshop on Wireless Technology for Rural Economies and Challenged Scenarios, Rome, Italy, 2007.
4. G. Castelli, M. Mamei, A. Rosi, The Whereabouts Diary ,International Symposium on Location- and Context-Awareness, Munich, Germany, 2007
5. N. Bicocchi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Towards Self-organizing Virtual Macro Sensors, IEEE Conference on Self-organizing and Self-adaptive Systems, Boston (MA), July 2007.
6. N. Bicocchi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Self-organizing Spatial Regions for Sensor Network Infrastructures, IEEE International Symposium on Pervasive Computing and Ad Hoc Communications, Niagara Falls, Canada, 2007.
7. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Field-based Coordination for Pervasive Computing Applications, International Workshop on Bioinspired design of networks, Cambridge, UK, 2007.
8. M. Mamei, R. Nagpal, Macro Programming through Bayesian Networks: Distributed Inference and Anomaly Detection, International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communication (Percom2007), IEEE CS Press, White Plains (NY, USA), 2007.
9. G. Castelli, A. Rosi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, A Simple Model and Infrastructure for Context-aware Browsing of the World, International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communication (Percom2007), IEEE CS Press, White Plains (NY, USA), 2007.
10. E. Hoefig, B. Wuest, B. Benko, A. Mannella, M. Mamei, E. Di Nitto, On Concepts for Autonomic Communication Elements , IEEE International Workshop on Modeling Autonomic Communications Environments, Dublin, Ireland, 2006.
11. C. Nugent, M. Baumgarten, M. Mulvenna, D. Craig, F. Zambonelli, M. Mamei, N. Bicocchi, K. Curran, Intelligent Person-Centric Services for Smart Environments: ‘Where are you? , International Conference on Smart homes and health Telematics, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2006.
12. M. Baumgarten, N. Bicocchi, K. Curran, M. Mamei, M. Mulvenna, C. Nugent, F. Zambonelli, Towards Self-Organizing Knowledge Networks for Smart World Infrastructures , International Conference on Self-Organization and Autonomous Systems in Computing and Communications, Erfurt, Germany, 2006.
13. M. Camurri, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Urban Traffic Control with Co-Fields , International Workshop on Environments for Multiagent Systems, Springer Verlag, Hakodate, Japan, 2006.
14. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Programming Modular Robots with the TOTA Middleware , International Workshop on Engineering Self-Organizing Applications, Springer Verlag, Hakodate, Japan, 2006.
15. G. Castelli, A. Rosi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Browsing the World: bridging pervasive computing and the Web , International Workshop on Ubiquitous Geographical Information Services, Munster, Germany, 2006.
16. M. Mamei, R. Quaglieri, F. Zambonelli, Making Tuple Spaces Physical with RFID Tags , Symposium on Applied Computing, ACM Press, Dijon, France, 2006.
17. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Self-Maintaining Overlay Data Structures for Pervasive Autonomic Services , IEEE International Workshop on Self-Managed Networks Systems and Services, Dublin, Ireland, 2006.
18. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Augmenting the Physical Environment Through Embedded Wireless Technologies , International Workshop on Environments for Multiagent Systems, Springer Verlag, Utrecht, NL, 2005.
19. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Physical Deployment of Digital Pheromones Through RFID Technology , IEEE Swarm Intelligence Symposium, IEEE CS Press, Pasadena (CA), USA, 2005. (Best Paper Award)
20. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Programming Stigmergic Coordination with the TOTA Middleware , International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, ACM Press, Utrecht, NL, 2005.
21. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Self-Organizing Approaches for Large-scale Spray Multiagent Systems , International Workshop on Software Engineering for Large-Scale Multi-Agent Systems, St. Louis (Missouri),USA, 2005
22. M. Mamei, Creating Overlay Data Structures with the TOTA Middleware to Support Content-based Routing in Mobile P2P Networks , IEEE Workshop on Hot Topics in Peer-to-Peer Systems (HOT-P2P), IEEE CS Press, Volendam, Netherlands, 2004.
23. M. Mamei, M. Vasirani, F. Zambonelli, Self-Organizing Spatial Shapes in Mobile Particles: The TOTA Approach , International Workshop on Engineering Self-Organising Applications, New York (NY), USA, 2004, to be published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer VerlaG.
24. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, [[Media:f24.pdf|Motion Coordination in the Quake 3 Arena Environment: a Field-based Approach] , International Workshop on Environments for Multiagent Systems (E4MAS), New York (NY), USA, 2004, to be published in Lecture Notes on Computer Science, Springer VerlaG.
25. F. Zambonelli, M. Mamei, Spatial Computing: an Emerging Paradigm for Autonomic Computing and Communication , Workshop on Autonomic Communication (WAC), Berlin, Germany, 2004, to be published in Lecture Notes on Computer Science, Springer VerlaG.
26. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Theory and Practice of Field-based Motion Coordination in Multiagent Systems , 4th Int’L. Symposium From Agent Theory to Agent Implementation, Vienna, Austria, 2004 (Best Paper Award). Publishd by the Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies, 2004.
27. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Programming Pervasive and Mobile Computing Applications with the TOTA Middleware , 2nd IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communication (Percom2004), IEEE CS Press, Orlando (FL), 2004.
28. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Self-Maintained Distributed Tuples for Field-based Coordination in Dynamic Networks , The 19th Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC 04), ACM Press, Nicosia, Cyprus, 2004.
29. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, L. Leonardi, Programming Coordinated Motion Patterns with the TOTA Middleware , Euro-Par, International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing, Klagenfurt, Austria, 2003. Published on Lecture Notes on Computer Science 2790, Springer Verlag, 2003.
30. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Self-Organization in Multi Agent Systems: a Middleware Approach , 1st International Workshop on Engineering Self-Organising Applications, Melbourne, Australia, 2003. Published on Lecture Notes on Computer Science 2977, Springer Verlag, 2003.
31. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Location-based and Content-based Information Access in Mobile Peer-to-Peer Computing: the TOTA Approach , 2nd International Workshop on Agents and Peer to Peer Computing, Melbourne, Australia, 2003. Published on Lecture Notes on Computer Science 2872, Springer Verlag, 2003.
32. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Developing Adaptive and Context-aware Applications in Dynamic Networks , Proceedings of 1st International Workshop on Theory And Practice of Open Computational Systems (TAPOCS) at the IEEE International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises (WETICE), IEEE CS Press, Linz, Austria, 2003.
33. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, L. Leonardi, Tuples On The Air: a Middleware for Context-Aware Computing in Dynamic Networks , Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Mobile Computing Middleware at the International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS), IEEE CS Press, Providence (RI), USA, 2003.
34. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, L. Leonardi, Distributed Motion Coordination with Co-Fields: A Case Study in Urban Traffic Management , 6th IEEE Symposium on Autonomous Decentralized Systems (ISADS 2003), IEEE CS Press, Pisa(I), 2003.
35. M. Gazzotti, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, A Programmable Event-based Middleware for Mobile Organizations , 11th IEEE EUROMICRO Conference on Parallel, Distributed, and Network Processing, IEEE CS Press, Genova (I), 2003.
36. F. Zambonelli, A. Roli, M. Mamei, Dissipative Cellular Automata As Minimalist Distributed Systems: A Study On Emergent Behaviors , 11th IEEE EUROMICRO Conference on Parallel, Distributed, and Network Processing, IEEE CS Press, Genova (I), 2003.
37. M. Mamei, L. Leonardi, F. Zambonelli, Co-Fields: Towards a Unifying Approach to the Engineering of Swarm Intelligent Systems , 3rd International Workshop on Engineering Societies in the Agents World (ESAW) 2002. Madrid, Spain. Published in Lecture Notes on Artificial Intelligence 2577, Springer Verlag, 2003.
38. L. Leonardi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, A Physically Grounded Approach to Coordinate Movements in a Team , 1st International Workshop on Mobile Teamwork (at ICDCS), IEEE CS Press, Vienna, A, 2002.
39. M. Mamei, Michael Mahan, Engineering Mobility in Large Multi Agent Systems: A Case Study in Urban Traffic Management , 1st International Workshop on Software Engineering for Large Scale Multi-Agent Systems (at ICSE02), Orlando, FL, USA, 2002. Published in Lecture Notes on Computer Science 2603, Springer Verlag, 2003.
40. F. Zambonelli, M. Mamei, Andrea Roli, What Can Cellular Automata Tell Us About the Behavior of Large Multi-Agent Systems?, 1st International Workshop on Software Engineering for Large Scale Multi-Agent Systems, Orlando, FL, USA, 2002. Published in Lecture Notes on Computer Science 2603, Springer Verlag, 2003.
41. G. Cabri, L. Leonardi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Engineering Infrastructures for Mobile Organizations, The 2nd International Workshop on Engineering Societies of Agents World 2001 (ESAW), Prague (CZ). Published in Lecture Notes on Computer Science 2203, Springer Verlag, 2001.

NATIONAL CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

1. N. Bicocchi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Mechanisms of Self-Organization in Pervasive Computing , Workshop dagli Oggetti agli Agenti (WOA), Catania, 2006.
2. Gabriella Castelli, Alberto Rosi M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, The W4 Model and Infrastructure for Contextaware Browsing The World , Workshop dagli Oggetti agli Agenti (WOA), Catania, 2006.
3. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Physical Deployment of Digital Pheromones Through RFID Technology, Workshop dagli Oggetti agli Agenti (WOA), Camerino, 2005.
4. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Spatial Computing: the TOTA Approach, Workshop dagli Oggetti agli Agenti (WOA), Torino, 2004.
5. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Spray Computers: Frontiers of Self-Organization for Pervasive Computing, Workshop dagli Oggetti agli Agenti (WOA), Cagliari, 2003.
6. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, L. Leonardi, Tuples on The Air: a Middleware for Context-Aware Multi Agent Systems, Workshop dagli Oggetti agli Agenti (WOA), Milano, 2002.
7. L. Leonardi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, A Physically Grounded Approach to Coordinate Movements in a Multi Agent System, VIII Convegno Associazione Italiana Intelligenza Artificiale (AIIA), Siena, 2002.
8. G. Cabri, L. Leonardi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Mobile Agent Organizations, Presented at Workshop dagli Oggetti agli Agenti (WOA), Modena. Abstract published in AIIA Notizie, VoL. 4, No. 4, 2001.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS (SHORT PAPERS, POSTERS)

1. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Programming Modular Robots with the TOTA Middleware, International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, ACM Press, (poster), Hakodate, Japan, 2006.
2. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Self-Maintaining Overlay Data Structures for Autonomic Distributed Computing, (poster) International Conference on Autonomic Computing (ICAC), Seattle (WA), USA, 2005.
3. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Programming Physical Deployment of Digital Pheromones Through RFID Technology, (poster) International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, ACM Press, Utrecht, NL, 2005.
4. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Field-based Motion Coordination In Quake 3 Arena, (poster) International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Muliagent Systems, AAMAS, New York, USA, 2004.
5. M. Vasirani, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Pattern Formation in Mobile Computational Particles with Minimal Capabilities, (poster) International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, AAMAS, New York, USA, 2004.
6. F. Zambonelli, Marie-Pierre Gleizes, M. Mamei, Robert Tolksdorf, Spray Computers Frontiers of Self-Organization for Pervasive Computing, (poster), International Conference on Autonomic Computing (ICAC), New York, USA, 2004.
7. F. Zambonelli, M. Mamei, Spatial Computing: an Emerging Paradigm for Autonomic Computing and Communication, International Workshop on Self-* Properties in Complex Information Systems (SELF-STAR), Bertinoro (Forlì), I, 2004
8. M. Vasirani, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Morphogenesis of Cooperative Robots with Minimal Capabilities: Preliminary Experiments, European Workshop on Multi Agent System, Oxford, UK, 2003.
9. M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, L. Leonardi, Programming Ubiquitous and Mobile Computing Applications with TOTA Middleware, Middleware Conference, WiP session, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pubblished by IEEE Distributed System Online Volume 4(5), DS On-line, 2003.
10. M. Mamei, Mike Mahan, L. Leonardi, F. Zambonelli, Coordinating Mobility in a Pervasive Computing Scenario with Co-Fields, (short paper), 1st International Conference, Pervasive 2002, Zurich, Switzerland, 2002.
11. M. Mamei, Michael Mahan, L. Leonardi, F. Zambonelli, Motion Coordination for Ubiquitous Agents, Workshop on Ubiquitous Agents on embedded, wearable, and mobile devices (at AAMAS 2002), Bologna, 2002.
12. G. Cabri, L. Leonardi, M. Mamei, F. Zambonelli, Mobile Agent Organizations, (poster), 5th IEEE International Conference on Mobile Agents (MA). Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2001.

TOTA Implementation & Download

We developed a first prototype of TOTA running on Compaq IPAQs, running Linux (Familiar distribution) and equipped with 802.11b and Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME, CDC, Personal profile). IPAQs connect locally in the MANET mode (i.e. without requiring access points) creating the skeleton of the TOTA network. Moreover, we have implemented an simulator to analyze TOTA behavior in presence of hundreds of nodes. The simulator, developed in Java, enables examining TOTA behavior in a MANET scenario, in which nodes topology can be rearranged dynamically either by a drag and drop user interface or by autonomous nodes’ movements. The strength of our simulator is that, by adopting well-defined interfaces between the simulator and the application layers, the same code “installed” on the emulated devices can be installed on real devices. This allow to test applications first in the simulator, then to upload them directly in a network of real devices

If you download and use this implementation, I would be very interested in receiving your feedbacks or knowing something about your project. Please drop me a line!

mamei.marco@unimore.it

DOWNLOAD

We created a mini tutorial to help getting started with TOTA.

Tutorial

TOTA Simple Applet

Tuples On The Air Applet

Tuples On The Air Applet (User Guide)

Here is a very short user guide on the TOTA applet: The simulator applet is divided in two main areas: the big area on the bottom is the MANET Panel and it represent the MANET current configuration. The small area on the top in the Control Panel and is used to control the simulation.

The MANET Panel provide a drag and drop user interface: you can drag the peers to reconfigure the MANET and you can double click on a peer to access its TOTA middleware.

The Control Panel provides different functionalities:

The first text area is the peer name area: it shows the name of the peer that has been selected (via double click) in the MANET Panel.

Once a peer has been selected, in the second text area: the the tuples area all the tuples stored in the peer are displayed.

The main operation you can do through the control panel is to let the selected peer to inject a tuple in the network. To this end you have to highlight the type of tuple you want to inject in the 3rd text area, then you have to type the content of the tuple in the 4th text area, then you have to push the progapate! button.

For a full list of the current supported tuples with their resepctive content go to: Tuple List

Moreover, you can execute general commands both on the selected peer and on the global network. To this end you have to highlight the command you want to execute on the 6th area, type the argument for that command on the 7th area and the push the execute! button.

For a full list of the current supported commands with their respective arguments go to: Command List

Finally, you can kill the selected peer by pushing the red kill! button

Tuple List

Tuples' names are given after their behavior, which is mainly described by three properties:

1. how the tuple propagates

2. how its content changes during the propagation

3. if the tuple has to be stored in the node it visits.

See the paper section for further details. Related to these points in the current implementation there are the following possibilities:

1. Bounded (B), Flood (F), Friend (FR), Downhill (D)

Bounded tuples propagate in broadcast but their scope is limited to a fixed number of hops, Flood tuples flood the network, Friend tuples propagate to all the nodes containing another specified tuple (the friend tuple), Downhill tupels propagates by following downhill a specified IncOneHop tuple (see later).

2. Constant (C), Flocking (F), IncOneHop (I)

Constant tuples do not change their content while propagating, Flocking tuples change their content accordingly to a flocking shape, IncOneHop tuples change their content increasing by one at every hop.

3. Always (A), Minimum (M), Never (N)

Always tuples always store in visited nodes, Minimum tuples store only in the minimum point of a specified IncOneHop tuple, Never tuples never store in visited nodes (i.e. they are transient)

The Name of a tuple is given after these three letters so for example:

FCA tuples are tuples that flood the network wihtout chanigng their content and are always stored in the visited nodes.

FFA tuples are tuples that flood the network, change their content to assume a flocking shape and are always stored in the visited nodes.

Tuples argument list

D** tuples: template name example: FIA hello * marco This is a tuple that follows downhill a FIA tuple having 'hello' as content. The content of the downhill tuple is 'marco'

B** tuples: name bound example: hello 3 This is a tuple having content 'hello' that propagates only wihtin 3 hops

All the others: content

Command List

EraseTuple ...Not yet implemented...

CreateDiameter ...Not yet implemented...

LeaderElection ...Not yet implemented...

AddPeer This command adds a new peer in the MANET. Just highlight this command and press execute. A new peer will appear.

Scramble This command scrambles the MANET. Just highlight this command and press execute. The MANET gets scrambled.

Hide/ShowLinks This command hides or shows links. Just highlight this command and press execute. The red lines representing links get displayed or not.

InstallAgentThis command install an agent (application) in the selected peer. The type of the agent with its parameter must be typed in the argument window (use blank to separate strings), the press execute to install the agent. For a full list of the current supported agents go to: Agents List

Agents List

FlockingAgent Type "FlockingAgent" in the argument window to create this agent. It simply flocks with other installed flocking agents. Try to install a number of these agents and the drag them in the Manet Panel to see how they maintain the flock. See the paper section for further details.

RequestAgent Type "RequestAgent" and a string Q in the argument window to create this agent. It starts querying for a tuple called "answer_Q"

ReplyAgent Type "ReplyAgent" and a string A in the argument window to create this agent. It starts looking for a tuple A and then it answer with "answer_A".