The research activity of Antonio Natali is centered on software
systems and software engineering, with partciolare reference to
software architectures and programming paradigms and tools. The
main research areas can be summarized as follows:
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Programming paradigms and programming languages
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Software conponents
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Intelligent middleware and software agents
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Software infrastructures for eLearning and Learning
Objiects
Programming paradigms and programming languages
This research area is a sort of backbone for all the research
activity, both from a theoretical and a pragmatic point of view,
with particular reference to the logic, object-oriented and
agent-based paradigms and languages. Among the main results we can
remember an extension to logic programming (contextual logic
programming) and
its experimentation in different application domains, including
intelligent robotic systems.
Software conponents
This area comprises works on the implementation of generic type in
the Java language and the ptoposal of computational models ro
capture the main types of interactions among software compoentns,
with particular reference to interaction based on events and
messages.
Intelligent middleware and software agents
This area can be viewed as a first application of the two areas
above. Among the main results there is the proposal for a
programmable middleware based on shared interaction spaces based on
logic evolving theories. This kind of middleware is now used to
promote the construction of innovative platforms in different
application domains, including eLearning management
systems.
Software infrastructures for eLearning
This research area is the most recent one and aims at introducing
innovatuive supports for agent-based LOMS (Learning Object
Management Systems)..
The proposed approach is used to taylor knowledge presentation to
user needs and has been honoured in 2008 with the IBM Faculty
Award.
