AI Agent Design Patterns - Interactive Learning Platform

At a Glance

What

A standardized protocol enabling agents built with different frameworks to communicate and collaborate seamlessly through message passing and shared interfaces.

Why

Breaks down framework silos, enables agent ecosystems, and allows organizations to leverage best-of-breed agents regardless of implementation technology.

Rule of Thumb

Use A2A when building multi-agent systems that span multiple frameworks, organizations, or need to integrate with external agent marketplaces.

What is Inter-Agent Communication?

Inter-Agent Communication (A2A) is like having a universal translator for AI agents. Just as diplomats from different countries need interpreters to communicate effectively, agents built with different frameworks need standardized protocols to work together seamlessly.

The Analogy: International Diplomacy

Imagine a United Nations meeting where delegates speak different languages. Without a common protocol (interpreters, standard procedures, shared documents), communication would be chaos. A2A provides this common language for AI agents, allowing a LangChain agent to collaborate with a Crew AI agent, or a Google ADK agent to work with a LangGraph agent.

Topic:

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Key Concepts

Protocol Standardization: Common message formats and communication rules
Framework Agnostic: Works across different agent frameworks
Message Passing: Structured data exchange between agents
Discovery: Agents can find and connect with other agents
Interoperability: Seamless collaboration despite different implementations

When to Use A2A

Building multi-agent systems with diverse frameworks
Integrating legacy agents with new implementations
Creating agent marketplaces or ecosystems
Enabling cross-organization agent collaboration
Building scalable distributed agent networks

Communication Patterns

1. Direct Messaging

Point-to-point communication where one agent sends a message directly to another agent.

Agent A → Message → Agent B

2. Publish-Subscribe

Agents publish messages to topics, and interested agents subscribe to receive relevant messages.

Publisher → Topic → Multiple Subscribers

3. Request-Response

Synchronous communication where an agent sends a request and waits for a response.

Agent A → Request → Agent B → Response → Agent A

4. Broadcast

One agent sends a message to all agents in the network simultaneously.

Agent A → Broadcast → All Agents

Visual Summary

Protocol Standardization

Common message formats and communication rules enable framework-agnostic collaboration

Message Passing

Structured data exchange with metadata, routing, and delivery guarantees

Agent Discovery

Agents can find and connect with other agents dynamically through registries

Interoperability

Seamless collaboration across LangChain, Crew AI, Google ADK, and other frameworks

Key Takeaways

1.A2A protocols enable agents from different frameworks to communicate through standardized message formats and interfaces

2.Communication patterns include direct messaging, publish-subscribe, request-response, and broadcast models

3.Agent discovery mechanisms allow dynamic connection and collaboration without hardcoded dependencies

4.Google's A2A protocol provides a reference implementation for framework-agnostic agent communication

5.A2A enables agent marketplaces, distributed networks, and cross-organization collaboration at scale

6.Message metadata includes routing information, priority levels, delivery guarantees, and security credentials

At a Glance

What

A standardized protocol enabling agents built with different frameworks to communicate and collaborate seamlessly through message passing and shared interfaces.

Why

Breaks down framework silos, enables agent ecosystems, and allows organizations to leverage best-of-breed agents regardless of implementation technology.

Rule of Thumb

Use A2A when building multi-agent systems that span multiple frameworks, organizations, or need to integrate with external agent marketplaces.

What is Inter-Agent Communication?

The Analogy: International Diplomacy

Topic:

Image placeholder - upload your image to replace

Key Concepts

Protocol Standardization: Common message formats and communication rules
Framework Agnostic: Works across different agent frameworks
Message Passing: Structured data exchange between agents
Discovery: Agents can find and connect with other agents
Interoperability: Seamless collaboration despite different implementations

When to Use A2A

Building multi-agent systems with diverse frameworks
Integrating legacy agents with new implementations
Creating agent marketplaces or ecosystems
Enabling cross-organization agent collaboration
Building scalable distributed agent networks

Communication Patterns

1. Direct Messaging

Point-to-point communication where one agent sends a message directly to another agent.

Agent A → Message → Agent B

2. Publish-Subscribe

Agents publish messages to topics, and interested agents subscribe to receive relevant messages.

Publisher → Topic → Multiple Subscribers

3. Request-Response

Synchronous communication where an agent sends a request and waits for a response.

Agent A → Request → Agent B → Response → Agent A

4. Broadcast

One agent sends a message to all agents in the network simultaneously.

Agent A → Broadcast → All Agents

Visual Summary

Protocol Standardization

Common message formats and communication rules enable framework-agnostic collaboration

Message Passing

Structured data exchange with metadata, routing, and delivery guarantees

Agent Discovery

Agents can find and connect with other agents dynamically through registries

Interoperability

Seamless collaboration across LangChain, Crew AI, Google ADK, and other frameworks

Key Takeaways

1.A2A protocols enable agents from different frameworks to communicate through standardized message formats and interfaces

2.Communication patterns include direct messaging, publish-subscribe, request-response, and broadcast models

3.Agent discovery mechanisms allow dynamic connection and collaboration without hardcoded dependencies

4.Google's A2A protocol provides a reference implementation for framework-agnostic agent communication

5.A2A enables agent marketplaces, distributed networks, and cross-organization collaboration at scale

6.Message metadata includes routing information, priority levels, delivery guarantees, and security credentials

Chapter 15: Inter-Agent Communication (A2A)

Inter-Agent Communication (A2A)

At a Glance

What

Why

Rule of Thumb

What is Inter-Agent Communication?

The Analogy: International Diplomacy

Key Concepts

When to Use A2A

Communication Patterns

1. Direct Messaging

2. Publish-Subscribe

3. Request-Response

4. Broadcast

Visual Summary

Protocol Standardization

Message Passing

Agent Discovery

Interoperability

Key Takeaways

Chapter 15: Inter-Agent Communication (A2A)

Inter-Agent Communication (A2A)

At a Glance

What

Why

Rule of Thumb

What is Inter-Agent Communication?

The Analogy: International Diplomacy

Key Concepts

When to Use A2A

Communication Patterns

1. Direct Messaging

2. Publish-Subscribe

3. Request-Response

4. Broadcast

Visual Summary

Protocol Standardization

Message Passing

Agent Discovery

Interoperability

Key Takeaways