Goalswhile

Goalswhile refers to a programming pattern used by autonomous systems to drive behavior toward multiple objectives through an iterative loop. It merges goal-oriented planning with a while-style control flow.

In a goalswhile loop, a set of active goals is maintained. Each iteration selects an action or plan intended to progress toward one or more goals. After executing the action, the system re-evaluates the goal set, adding new goals as they arise and removing those that are satisfied or deemed infeasible. The loop continues until all goals are satisfied, a termination condition triggers, or a safety constraint fires.

Implementation often uses a planner or decision engine that maintains a goal repository and a scoring function to rank goals. The loop can support subgoals, timeouts, and resource constraints, and may interleave planning with execution to handle dynamic environments. It can be implemented as a library, a DSL, or an architectural pattern in robotics, AI agents, or workflow systems.

Applications include autonomous robotics, service robots, process automation, and interactive agents that must satisfy multiple objectives in changing contexts. Benefits include improved responsiveness to new requirements and better alignment with user goals, while challenges include potential for non-termination, goal conflicts, and increased computational overhead. Related topics include goal-driven behavior, while loops, planning systems, and autonomous agents.