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  6. CS4027: PEER-TO-PEER AND AGENT-BASED COMPUTING

CS4027: PEER-TO-PEER AND AGENT-BASED COMPUTING (2015-2016)

Last modified: 25 Mar 2016 11:33


Course Overview

Students will be exposed to theories, techniques, and technologies related with peer-to-peer and agent-based computing. The course consists of a series of lectures where theories and techniques will be presented; we also have weekly hands-on practicals where students will be exposed to various technologies. Knowledge of peer-to-peer and agent-based computing is most valuable when designing large-scale distributed systems.


Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session First Sub Session Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Professor Wamberto Vasconcelos
  • Professor Timothy Norman

Qualification Prerequisites

None.

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

  • Introduction to peer-to-peer computing and motivation.
  • Basic peer-to-peer algorithms and models: Centralised Directory, Flooded Request and Document Routing. Peer-to-peer topologies. Case studies.
  • Peer-to-peer issues: Scalability, Anonymity/Privacy, Security, Performance, Reliability.
  • Sample peer-to-peer technologies (e.g., Gnutella, Freenet and JXTA).
  • Introduction to intelligent software agents and multi-agent systems. Motivations. Case studies.
  • Basic concepts of software agents and multi-agent systems.
  • Theories of agency, agent architectures and agent-oriented programming languages.
  • Agent communication languages and protocols, including standards.
  • Agent programming platforms.
  • Negotiation and co-ordination mechanisms. Electronic institutions. Auctions and voting.
  • Tuple spaces programming for agent communication and coordination.
  • Distributed problem-solving.

Further Information & Notes

Assistive technologies may be required for any student who is unable to use a standard keyboard/mouse/computer monitor. Any students wishing to discuss this further should contact the School Disability Co-ordinator.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (75%); continuous assessment (25%).

Resit: No resits.

Formative Assessment

During lectures, the Personal Response System and/or other ways of student interaction will be used for formative assessment. Additionally, practical sessions will provide students with practice opportunities and formative assessment.

Feedback

Formative feedback for in-course assessments will be provided in written form. Additionally, formative feedback on performance will be provided informally during practical sessions.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.
 

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