Specifying the exact sequence of actions and their operands for every single unit would be mind-numbingly complex, and, for that matter, not very realistic either. Therefore, Xconq includes several levels of automation for human players.
The elements of automation are the task, the plan, the doctrine, and the strategy. These are related to each other by goals.
Tasks are single activities of a unit that require one or more actions to accomplish. Examples of tasks include moving to a given position, or waiting 15 turns to be picked up by a transport. Most of the commands that you give while playing actually set up tasks rather than individual actions.
A plan is the unit's object that expresses its decided-upon behavior. Elements of a plan include a type, possibly one or more goals, a task agenda, plus some assorted flags and properties. All units that can act and that are on a side will have a plan, while independent units that can do actions may have a plan that is preset by a scenario. Plans primarily govern individual behavior, in many cases allowing the unit to act on its own, without needing any explicit direction from the player.
The doctrine is the set of parameters governing how the side will play and how its units should work generally. For instance, per-unit doctrine specifies the point which a unit low on supply should start to look for a place to replenish itself.
The strategy and associated subobjects is what an AI uses to make all the decisions about what to do. This object is not directly visible, unless the AI is acting as your assistant and the interface includes a display of its current strategy.
Of all these types of objects, only the doctrine can be manipulated directly; all others are implicitly changed as a result of player commands, which are different for each interface.