artificial intelligence, robotics, framework, middleware, middle ware, expert systems, agents, intelligent, software, open source, free, robot ethics, autonomous moral agents

High Level Logic (HLL) Open Source Project

The High Level Logic (HLL) Open Source Project is hosted on java.net. This page is maintained for open public access. You can also follow news on sites linked below. Java.net access requires that you register at java.net. Project access at java.net requires access permission granted by project owners; i.e. contact me for access @ email: Roger F. Gay. The HLL Project main page at java.net is: hll.dev.java.net.

Project Description:

Summary High Level Logic (HLL) is a framework for intelligent applications that is easy to understand and use, even by less experienced programmers.
License Lesser General Public License (LGPL v. 2.1)
Owner(s) Roger F. Gay
Dev. Home http://hll.dev.java.net
Avail: On schedule availability by August 31, 2010
API Preliminary API (javadoc)
Keywords artificial intelligence, robotics, framework, middleware, middle ware, expert systems, agents, intelligent, software, open source, free, robot ethics, autonomous moral agents

NEWS

Keep up with project news and commentary easily by signing up for the HLL Blog and HLL Facebook group; and don't forget the project mailing lists and discussion forum .

Note: This project is briefly delayed to have the first robot related demonstration and more complete supportive website up and running by August 31, 2010. A preliminary draft of the API: http://isr.nu/hll/docs/api/ (Note that refactoring is expected before end of August release, and the first release might not be version 1.0.)


Downloadable Executables

2010-09-09

A simple compiled version is available now for download. This is a stubbed version  that is easy to run and has only two commands - run, and exit. The run command results in a few short lines of print as the HLL process passes through each layer - executive, manager, and expert (see below) - and prints the traditional "Hello World!" from an expert specified in a Resource configuration file. Simply expand the file into a convenient location and read the README.txt file for further information. A port must be opened through firewalls and routers - then run it. Download: ZIP file or JAR file

A browser-based setup that runs under Apache Tomcat is available for running the simple core system (above); developed and tested using Firefox 3.x.x. You must have the core system above downloaded and running. Then simply download one of the following files and expand it into your Tomcat webapps directory. This will create a subdirectory called "HLL20100909". Follow instructions in the README.txt file that comes with this download. Download: ZIP file or JAR file

 

My Development System:

The HLL core system is pure Java, so it should run anywhere. Nonetheless, here is specification of what I have been using for development and test. For optional browser-based GUI, note that the browser code is much more sensitive and the browser part is, at present (Sept. 9, 2010), being built and tested for Firefox. Some work has been done toward a cross-browser version, but ongoing work is tested in Firefox only. The Apache Tomcat server is only required to support the optional browser-based GUI, which makes use of servlets. The HLL core system can be run from a command line, with no browser and without Tomcat.


Project Overview:

 

HLL, What is it and what is the vision?

High Level Logic (HLL) is a framework for intelligent applications that is easy to understand and use, even by less experienced programmers. Applications consist of integrated chains of decisions and operations (see below). Development of cooperating systems, each of which is built on HLL, is as easy as building a single integrated system. Application programmers build protocols that link to specialized application components. HLL “message passing” is taken to the extreme, as with independent interacting agents, while providing the backbone for complete applications around which specialized application components are applied and interact. Individual actors (intelligent agents) within the framework have specialized roles and responsibilities (and authorities) that are designed to complement one another. The HLL components form a complete working organization that controls, manages, and executes the “chains of decisions and operations” of the application.

 

History of the HLL concept to the current vision

Power Point Presentation from 2005 discussing the HLL concept at the time: Suggesting Higher Level Logic for Expert Systems

The general idea was first conceived in the mid-1980s when AI – rule-based “expert systems” – were first becoming commercially available. The expert systems technology of the day was plagued with “bottlenecks” that limited much development to narrowly focused domains. The idea of tying individual rule-based experts (and other software) together with a software system modeled on human organizations seemed appealing. My use of the term “expert” expanded to include a wider range of specialized software components, including those that specifically integrated, traded, and made use of results from individual narrowly focused rule-based experts.

A specific problem that I soon found in front of me involved decision support for agricultural enterprizes – farms. One farming operation can consist of a variety of separate enterprizes, such as different crops and animal stock. Within each of these larger enterprizes, there are many narrowly focused decisions, such as feed, fertilizer, and irrigation optimization that were fit for narrowly focused expert systems. How can one integrate individual narrowly focused decision processes with other other dependent decisions? How can one integrate entire operations to optimize production and profit for the farm?

By the end of the decade and into the next, I had many discussions with academics and developers on a wide range of similar problems. One in particular sticks in my mind; that of automating entire factory operations, from field sales through front office, into production, to delivery and payment. It may have been through this conversation that my preference for actors and organization reflecting human roles and human organizations became locked in cement – so to speak. In this context, it hardly seems that any further explanation is needed for this preference (assuming you've worked in similar organizations or have some conception of how they work).

Today, the concept of software agents that perform tasks previously performed by specialized humans is not unpopular – such as an Internet salesperson, for example. One might also include those irritating automated telephone answering systems that try to figure out what you want and direct your call, perhaps to another automated system. Picking up the idea again in the late 1990s, it was not difficult to realize that using current technology, it is possible to create a much more powerful system much more easily than originally concieved more than a decade earlier. Java's network support for example (and the Internet of course), provides powerful ways for components to interact even when they are physically on systems half a world apart (or in outer space). Large enterprize systems (well supported by Java EE) can provide systematic interaction between departments and operations.

Yet, the problem that I generically refer to as “high level logic” is still with us. I spotted it immediately as I became involved in intelligent autonomous robotics. Many of the brilliant achievements so far deal with “lower level” (narrowly focused as with the expert systems before) functionality – balancing and walking, avoiding obstacles, moving through unfamiliar spaces, grasping objects (not prepropgrammed for the specifics as industrial robots) and the like, as well as automated learning, including automated creation and maintenance of control software. There has also even been some very interesting work at much higher cognitive levels – such as an experiment in development of Autonomous Moral Agents in one of my own organizations. (Publication in the works.) Technology for sophisticated cooperation between robots is still in very early stages.

An inspirational vision:

Even when human agents are considered, it is possible to see the distinction between specialization and what I refer to as “high level logic” (my specific meaining). Inexperienced and uneducated people often have highly specialized jobs that involve narrowly focused repetative tasks. Education, training and experience are often involved before one integrates mastery of a chain of decisions and operations.

A new software engineer works on writing programs, initially focusing on smaller parts of larger systems under the direction of more experienced engineers. Years later, that same engineer may recognize a need, propose a design and a large project, complete its planning and manage its execution.

A 16 year old with a drivers license is known to feel hungry. Left to herself, the entire diet could well consist of twinkies, chips, and McDonalds hamburgers enough for one. A 45 year old wife and mother can make planning and execution of a large sophisticated social affair with a nice (and possibly healthy) dinner look easy – even fun. (At least the thinking part.)

I do not believe that we will see the kinds of sophisticated intelligent software systems that are dreamed of today without generalizing the organization and processes involved in integrating chains of complex decisions and operations. It is this part of intelligent systems design that the HLL concept seeks to address.


HLL SE, Version 1.0

The version 1.0 release, HLL SE also code-named “HLL Light” is very light-weight, easy to master and use. It is intended to provide a quick-start into understanding and using HLL, yet provide a sufficiently powerful framework to be the right choice for a wide range of applications. Links to Sun Java “Trail” tutorials are included in project documentation (and at least a few HLL specific tutorials will likely be written) for programmers who wish to understand the HLL source completely but have yet to master some of the technology involved.

Although application developers can add whatever components they wish, HLL Light itself is intentionally restricted to Java SE components only and the organizational structure is fixed to three layers; “executive,” “manager,” and “experts.” (Experts are merely specialized application components, although they may be “experts” or “expert systems” in the more traditional AI sense. More on that in other documentation.)

Interaction between these levels is controlled by a simple server (sockets). “Roles and responsibilities” or members of the organization are defined by application programmers in the form of server protocols; i.e. normal Java programs that determine what is to be done when an executive, manager, or expert is contacted via the server. (You do not need to have expertise in server technology to write your first protocols.) Most “experts” are application specific and must be created by the application developers or otherwise acquired (perhaps from another open-source project).

Short list of potential improvements:

Make a special note here, that the addition of some sort of rule processing system is a high priority for this project, especially in support of replacing the need to write complete server protocols in Java. (It will have other uses too.) Using this first release (a documented version of the first simple prototype), application builders who write complete protocols in Java may feel that they are writing too much of the actual “high level logic” themselves that should be done automatically as an advantage to using the HLL framework. (That shouldn't stop you though – here's a start – copy-paste and modify as many times as needed: if () {} else if {} else {} - but seriously, a rule system w rule construction tool built specifically for HLL will be a welcome addition. The EE version discussed below might use JBoss Rules instead.)

The version 1.0 release includes a simple example using two interacting copies of HLL Light, one supporting high level activity for a very simple robot simulation and the other supporting the robot's Command Center. HLL does not require an Internet server. The example can run using command line input. (*) But the example includes an optional browser-based GUI that runs under Apache Tomcat. It has applet-servlet communication that allows the robot to “push” information into the browser without an explicit request from a human operator. Communication between the GUI servlet and HLL Light occurs through a socket, keeping the HLL framework entirely separate from the GUI components.

Created as part of the development process, the example currently displays tracing information and simple animated graphics showing the robot's movement through rooms. Developers can however, easily modify the information sent to the browser using HLL methods. Documentation provides illustrations of the use of this GUI for end-use applications.

* Other applications can replace the command line interaction with interaction between HLL processes and other programs; and “other programs” can include other HLL based applications. Communication between the robot HLL and Command Center HLL is an example of this interaction.


HLL EE, Version 0.0

HLL EE represents the more powerful next generation version of HLL. Along with exceptional power and flexibility, experienced Java programmers and specialized teams should realize significant time savings in developing sophisticated applications along with appreciating enhancements through use of Java EE and other technologies.

The current short-list is given here. Suggestions are welcome, but there inclusion on this list is not guaranteed.

JMS provides point-to-point and broadcast communication, both asynchronously and in a limited precise sense synchronously.

JBoss Rules provides a powerful rule-processing system that is strongly integrated with Java. It is easily called, used, and modified from within another system and rules can be composed that contain Java method calls. (Simple example, something like: if (Obj1.method1) then (Obj2.method2).) It is noteworthy that the earliest conception of an HLL system occurred circa 1985 as a way of opening up the bottlenecks in “expert systems” development; early commercially available AI that was most often based on rules.

Consideration for GUI modification / replacement is based on the general difficulty of maintaining cross-browser applications and the availability of alternatives. (In fact, more work and testing is needed in this area. See below.) I think this one will ultimately depend largely on user preference and acceptance (or rejection) of the dhtml / frames approach.

 

Additional features.

GUI

Although the existing browser-based GUI is an extra free component, it is currently configured as a nice addition to the developers' suite, allowing complete system (something to the GUI at least) operation from the beginning of each development project. There is an intent to build generally useful and reusable functionality and to minimize effort in customization. (It's frames! So long as you have communication with the back-end processes, you just need to create specialized web-pages to go into them.

Improvements to the existing GUI (as well as alternatives) can be incorporated into this project.

Cross-browser testing, development, and quality assurance (incl. ease of customization and maintenance).

Streaming real-time audio / video can support a variety of applications. It has been on my mind due directly to an interest in the use of HLL in robotics. I would like to see through the “robot's eyes” via the command station GUI.

This project should provide a good cross-browser implementation of the GUI. The priority depends on user preference (or how much time I have for it if no one else is interested). The current version (demonstration) works on the most popular browsers, but development proceeds using primarily only one browser with little testing in others. In the short term, if your application does not require anywhere / any-time access, you may wish to give full support to only one browser. There are cross-browser frameworks available that could ease customization and maintenance difficulties.

 

Participation:

This project may provide an opportunity for developers to participate in a variety of ways. If you are interested in participating please send an inquiry to the owner at rogerfgay@dev.java.net

If you are a member, you can see the current list of members here

If you are not a member, you can request membership to this project here.

Mailing Lists:

If you wish to subscribe to one of this project's mailing lists, click here

Downloads:

Issues:

See Project Overview above. When the time comes: (To submit a project issue, or query existing issues, click here

For The Project Owner:

Congratulations on your new java.net project!

You can edit your project page using the WYSIWYG editor or a Subversion client like NetBeans if your project uses Subversion.
If your project uses CVS, then you can edit the project using a CVS client like NetBeans. For help editing your project, click here

You can promote your project in the Java.net project catalog. Click here to view the list of projects in the catalog in which you are an owner

For more help on editing and customizing your project page, click here

You can find lots of helpful information on java.net to get your project started. Some of the things you will find in there include:

Markmail offers several advantages:

  1. It makes finding messages easier and faster.
  2. It exposes analytics that make it possible to learn about each project and its contributors.
  3. It helps reduce the amount of repeat questions on the lists.
  4. It helps users be more successful with the project by giving them the 'background' of previous discussions.

Remember that you will attract more new members and your project team will work more effectively if you, as the project owner, supply sufficient information about your project for visitors to your project space. Good luck with your new project!