SURVEY OF AGENT FRAMEWORKS

WHAT A FRAMEWORK IS AND WHY IT EXISTS A software library is a collection of ready-made code that you call from your own program to do a specific job, such as sending a request over the internet. A framework is a larger kind of library that also decides the overall structure of your program, and that calls your code at the points you have marked out. A common saying among programmers is that with a library you call the code, but with a framework the code calls you. An agent framework is a framework for building agents, and it typically provides ready-made versions of the pieces you studied in earlier parts. It may provide a loop that repeatedly asks the model what to do, as in Part Three. It may provide a way to describe tools and call them, as in Part Four. It may provide ways to store conversation history and other state, as in Parts Five and Six. It may provide hooks for logging and tracing, as in Part Seven. A hook is a point in a program where you are allowed to attach your own extra behavior. Frameworks exist because many teams were rebuilding the same plumbing again and again. A good framework lets you spend your time on what is special about your agent instead of what is common to all agents.