SURVEY OF AGENT FRAMEWORKS

CHAPTER SUMMARY An agent framework is a reusable kit that supplies the common plumbing of a harness, such as the loop, tool calling, state, and tracing. Graph-based frameworks describe agents as nodes and edges and suit stateful, looping agents. Role-based crew frameworks organize agents as team members with jobs, and start fast but can hide details. Minimal frameworks provide little beyond the loop and tools, giving control but requiring you to build more. Choosing between building and adopting depends on fit, speed, understanding, stability, and dependency risk, and a thin layer of your own code reduces lock-in. KEY TERMS REVIEW Framework: a larger library that sets the overall structure of your program and calls your code. Library: ready-made code that you call to do a specific job. Graph: a set of nodes joined by edges. Node: one step of work in a graph. Edge: an arrow showing which step can come next. Cycle: a loop in which a step leads back to an earlier step. Checkpoint: a saved snapshot of a run that allows pausing and resuming. SDK: a bundle of code and documentation for building on a product. Lock-in: being so tied to one product that leaving is very costly.