(DefinePO
:sender Agent
:receiver CM
:language ProcessLink
:content (ObjectName|Beam1&

This example shows that the ParameterObject 'Beam1' is defined. It has its own attribute 'length' which is difficult to be specified at the class-object level.

Define ParameterObject

This protocol defines the ParameterObject.

ParameterObject is a special data type, which can be used as both parameter and object. Agent can refer to the ParameterObject as parameter, when an agent wants to know the instances, when the agent wants to change the feasible instances, or selects a instance. In this case, ParameterObject is just like the variable and instances are just like the domain of the variable. Bit it is an object, which has several attributes and the constraint expreaaion can be applied to the attributes.

Declaration of ParameterObject has several meaning for the agents, Redux and CM.

• The agent may make a decision on the ParameterObject instances(e.g. Beam1 as ASI-1) or on the feature value of the ParameterObject(e.g. section-modulus of the Beam1 is 100.0). The agents always requests feasible domain goods based on the ParameterObject instances or feature values of the ParameterObject.
• In Redux side, definition of the ParameterObject instances is an assignment. This definition may change(some of the instances of the Beam1 may be deleted or added). When the definition of the instances are changed, Redux will inform the change to CM.
• In CM side, definition of the ParamererObject instances will generate the implicit constraints, which will be distributed to Solvers. When CM propagates constraints, some instances of the ParameterObject will be eliminated. If some instances of the ParameterObjects is eliminated, all the feature values of the eliminated ParameterObject will be filtered out, too. This may be used to improe the efficiency of the constraint propagation. CM should implemented to reply the queries, whether the requestd queries are based on the feature values of the ParameterObject or based on the instances of the ParameterObject.

Instances will NOT be defined by this protocol since Redux needs not know about the ParameterObject definitions. Instead agents can use 'DefinePOInstances' protocol to define the instances of the ParameterObject.

Field Description

ObjectName : ParameterObject ID

Attributes : ParameterObject specific(e.g. the attributes which is NOT defined in the class definition) attributes.