ORCHESTRATION PATTERNS

LEARNING GOALS In this chapter, you will learn four classic ways to organize a team of agents. They are called the Supervisor pattern, the Pipeline pattern, the Blackboard pattern, and the Swarm pattern. You will also learn how to choose among them. First, let us explain the word "orchestration." Orchestration means arranging and directing how several agents work together, just as the conductor of an orchestra decides who plays when. A pattern is simply a reusable shape for a solution, a template that engineers have found works well in certain situations. Think of patterns as floor plans for an office. One floor plan has a manager in a corner office with everyone reporting to her. Another floor plan is an assembly line. Another is a big shared whiteboard room. Another is an open space where people just turn to whoever can help. None is best in every case. The right choice depends on the work.