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Felix Härer

Publications and source records attributed to Felix Härer.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Specification and Evaluation of Multi-Agent LLM Systems -- Prototype and Cybersecurity Applications

Recent advancements in LLMs indicate potential for novel applications, as evidenced by the reasoning capabilities in the latest OpenAI and DeepSeek models. To apply these models to domain-specific applications beyond text generation, LLM-based multi-agent systems can be utilized to solve complex tasks, particularly by combining reasoning techniques, code generation, and software execution across multiple, potentially specialized LLMs. However, while many evaluations are performed on LLMs, reasoning techniques, and applications individually, their joint specification and combined application are not well understood. Defined specifications for multi-agent LLM systems are required to explore their potential and suitability for specific applications, allowing for systematic evaluations of LLMs, reasoning techniques, and related aspects. This paper reports the results of exploratory research on (1.) multi-agent specification by introducing an agent schema language and (2.) the execution and evaluation of the specifications through a multi-agent system architecture and prototype. The specification language, system architecture, and prototype are first presented in this work, building on an LLM system from prior research. Test cases involving cybersecurity tasks indicate the feasibility of the architecture and evaluation approach. As a result, evaluations could be demonstrated for question answering, server security, and network security tasks completed correctly by agents with LLMs from OpenAI and DeepSeek.

cs.CR

Conceptual Model Interpreter for Large Language Models

Large Language Models (LLMs) recently demonstrated capabilities for generating source code in common programming languages. Additionally, commercial products such as ChatGPT 4 started to provide code interpreters, allowing for the automatic execution of generated code fragments, instant feedback, and the possibility to develop and refine in a conversational fashion. With an exploratory research approach, this paper applies code generation and interpretation to conceptual models. The concept and prototype of a conceptual model interpreter is explored, capable of rendering visual models generated in textual syntax by state-of-the-art LLMs such as Llama~2 and ChatGPT 4. In particular, these LLMs can generate textual syntax for the PlantUML and Graphviz modeling software that is automatically rendered within a conversational user interface. The first result is an architecture describing the components necessary to interact with interpreters and LLMs through APIs or locally, providing support for many commercial and open source LLMs and interpreters. Secondly, experimental results for models generated with ChatGPT 4 and Llama 2 are discussed in two cases covering UML and, on an instance level, graphs created from custom data. The results indicate the possibility of modeling iteratively in a conversational fashion.

cs.SE

A Cross-Chain Query Language for Application-Level Interoperability Between Open and Permissionless Blockchains

Open and permissionless blockchains are distributed systems with thousands to tens of thousands of nodes, establishing novel platforms for decentralized applications. When realizing such an application, data might be stored and retrieved from one or more blockchains by distributed network nodes without relying on centralized coordination and trusted third parties. Data access could be provided through a query language such as SQL at the application level, establishing a unified view on application-level data that is verifiably stored. However, when accessing multiple blockchains through their node software and APIs, interoperability cannot be assumed today, resulting in challenges of inhomogeneous data access. In addition, different feature sets and trade-offs exist, e.g., regarding smart contract functionality, availability, distribution, scalability, and security. For increasing interoperability, the paper at hand suggests pursuing the development of a cross-chain query language at the application level. The language abstracts from implementation by providing a standardized syntax, an integrated data model, and a processing architecture for data queries. This research is an extended and updated paper of a prior publication demonstrating the language syntax, data model, and architecture with an evaluation of compatibility against the largest open and permissionless blockchains today.

cs.DC

Executable Models and Instance Tracking for Decentralized Applications on Blockchains and Cloud Platforms -- Metamodel and Implementation

Decentralized applications rely on non-centralized technical infrastructures and coordination principles. Without trusted third parties, their execution is not controlled by entities exercising centralized coordination but is instead realized through technologies supporting distribution such as blockchains and serverless computing. Executing decentralized applications with these technologies, however, is challenging due to the limited transparency and insight in the execution, especially when involving centralized cloud platforms. This paper extends an approach for execution and instance tracking on blockchains and cloud platforms permitting distributed parties to observe the instances and states of executable models. The approach is extended with (1.) a metamodel describing the concepts for instance tracking on cloud platforms independent of concrete models or implementation, (2.) a multidimensional data model realizing the concepts accordingly, permitting the verifiable storage, tracking, and analysis of execution states for distributed parties, and (3.) an implementation on the Ethereum blockchain and Amazon Web Services (AWS) using state machine models. Towards supporting decentralized applications with high scalability and distribution requirements, the approach establishes a consistent view on instances for distributed parties to track and analyze the execution along multiple dimensions such as specific clients and execution engines.

cs.DC

Executable Models and Instance Tracking for Decentralized Applications -- Towards an Architecture Based on Blockchains and Cloud Platforms

The execution of decentralized applications on blockchains is limited today by technical and organizational barriers, including scalability and the high complexity to specify execution correctly for developers as well as for domain experts in organizations. Overcoming these limitations could allow for decentralized coordination beyond data, where distributed parties rely on higher-level abstractions for coordinating their actions using decentralized applications, not limited to organizations. Towards this goal, the paper at hand proposes executable models as high-level abstraction that can be observed and tracked by distributed parties. In particular, it is investigated how executable models on cloud platforms can be coupled with smart contracts for tracking their execution, concluding with an architecture as exploratory research result towards supporting scalability and decentralized coordination.

cs.DC

Towards Interoperability of Open and Permissionless Blockchains: A Cross-Chain Query Language

The rise of open and permissionless blockchains has introduced novel platforms for applications based on distributed data storage. At the application and business levels, long-established query languages such as SQL provide interoperability that can be complemented by blockchain-based data storage today, enabling permissionless and verifiable data storage along with decentralized execution across tens of thousands of nodes. However, when accessing one or more blockchains, interoperability is not provided today, posing challenges such as inhomogeneous data access in addition to different features and trade-offs, e.g. in data and distribution, scalability, and security. Towards interoperability in data access among the increasing number of blockchain platforms, this paper introduces a cross-chain query language for data access across blockchains. Similar to SQL, the language abstracts from implementation based on a data model compatible with the largest open and permissionless blockchains (OPB) today. The language, data model, and processing architecture are demonstrated and evaluated with an implemented prototype, aiming to contribute to the discussion on blockchain interoperability among OPB.

cs.DC

Blockchain Application Development Using Model-Driven Engineering and Low-Code Platforms: A Survey

The creation of blockchain-based software applications requires today considerable technical knowledge, particularly in software design and programming. This is regarded as a major barrier in adopting this technology in business and making it accessible to a wider audience. As a solution, no-code and low-code approaches have been proposed that require only little or no programming knowledge for creating full-fledged software applications. In this paper we review academic approaches from the discipline of model-driven engineering as well as industrial no-code and low-code development platforms for blockchains. We further present a case study for an integrated no-code blockchain environment for demonstrating the state-of-the-art in this area. Based on the gained insights we derive requirements for the future development of no-code and low-code approaches that are dedicated to the field of blockchains.

cs.SE

A Bibliometric Analysis of the BPM Conference Using Computational Data Analytics

The BPM conference has a long tradition as the premier venue for publishing research on business process management. For exploring the evolution of research topics, we present the findings from a computational bibliometric analysis of the BPM conference proceedings from the past 15 years. We used the publicly available DBLP dataset as a basis for the analysis, which we enriched with data from websites and databases of the relevant publishers. In addition to a detailed analysis of the publication results, we performed a content-based analysis of over 1,200 papers from the BPM conference and its workshops using Latent Dirichlet Allocation. This offers insights into historical developments in Business Process Management research and provides the community with potential future prospects.

cs.DL