eGents Demo Script

Venu Vasudevan
Object Services and Consulting, Inc.
1999

Important :

A eGents server needs to be up and running to try the demo.
Make sure you put a carriage return at the end of every file you send.
When you try to send the XML performative by mail, you will be presented the following dialogue.

Also make sure that the subject line of each sent message is %%Fipa Performative%%. No preceding tabs or blank spaces. When you are testing, cc: all mails to venuv@neta.com so that I can see what is going on.
Below, what you type is red and what the agent replies is green.

1. This file says that "Venu is interested in any papers authored by Uschold". Replace YourAgent with YourNameAgent in xml block below and e-mail this block as a file to egents@internal.objs.com.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<fipa_performative>
<perfName>subscribe</perfName>
<sender>YourAgent</sender>
<receiver>BSA</receiver>
<content>com.objs.egents.Glimpser Uschold 1</content>
<reply_with>delegated-to</reply_with>
<language>JavaComponentLanguage</language>
</fipa_performative>

2. You will get an email reply (with subject header that looks like below, indicating that an agent named TaskAgent1 has been started up on my m/c to continuously monitor your request. The bootstrap agent BSA has automatically edited and rerouted your above request to TaskAgent0 , you don't need to do that.

From: egents@internal.objs.com
Subject: %%Fipa Performative%%
To: thompson@objs.com
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
<fipa_performative>
<perfName>inform</perfName>
<sender>BSA</sender>
<receiver>YourAgent</receiver>
<content>delegate-name TaskAgent0</content>
</fipa_performative>

3. When your agent TaskAgent0 (incrementally) finds papers written by Uschold, you will get this list as a reply that looks like below. The reply gives you a list of papers authored by Uschold.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
<fipa_performative>
<perfName>inform</perfName>
<sender>TaskAgent0</sender>
<receiver>VenuAgent</receiver>
<content>/export/home/venuv/temp/PAPER_REP/Notes.html /export/home/venuv/temp/PAPER_REP/sowa_on_ontologies.html
</content>
</fipa_performative>

4. Now ask the BSA(Bootstrap agent) to spawn you a "packager" agent that sends you said papers (one at a time) by sending the xml doc below to egents@internal.objs.com.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<fipa_performative>
<perfName>request</perfName>
<sender>YourAgent</sender>
<receiver>BSA</receiver>
<content>com.objs.egents.Packager /export/home/venuv/temp/PAPER_REP/Notes.html</content>
<reply_with>delegated-to</reply_with>
<language>JavaComponentLanguage</language>
</fipa_performative>

5. Again, the BSA will assign you your personal packager agent (TaskAgent1)and send you a message that looks like 2.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
<fipa_performative>
<perfName>inform</perfName>
<sender>BSA</sender>
<receiver>YourAgent</receiver>
<content>delegate-name TaskAgent1</content>
</fipa_performative>

6. Your personal packager agent TaskAgent1 will then send you a file as an e-mail attachment.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
<fipa_performative>
<perfName>inform</perfName>
<sender>TaskAgent1</sender>
<receiver>YourAgent</receiver>
<content>attachment --see attached file--</content>
</fipa_performative>

Notes on ontologies, (and their relevance to service trading in an internet service market)
Venu Vasudevan
Note about the title: At this point it is more the former than the latter, but we'll get there
Why the interest in ontologies
To paraphrase [Chandra], "the current interest in ontologies is the latest version of AI's alternation of focus between mechanism theories and content theories. <snip> (the contents of the Notes.html file)

7. You can continue and ask your packager to send you the next file. Note that this message is to TaskAgent1, not the BSA.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<fipa_performative>
<perfName>request</perfName>
<sender>YourAgent</sender>
<receiver>TaskAgent1</receiver>
<content>com.objs.egents.Packager /export/home/venuv/temp/PAPER_REP/sowa_on_ontologies.html</content>
<reply_with>delegated-to</reply_with>
<language>JavaComponentLanguage</language>
</fipa_performative>

8. You'll get a reply that looks like step 6, with a different file attachment.....

This research is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and managed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory under contract F30602-98-C-0159. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, or the United States Government.

© Copyright 1999, 2001 Object Services and Consulting, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy this document provided this copyright statement is retained in all copies. Disclaimer: OBJS does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information in this survey.

Last revised: 2001. Send comments to Craig Thompson.

Acknowledgements: The initial design and implementation of eGents was by Dr. Venu Vasudevan (now at Motorola Labs). Dr. Paul Pazandak (OBJS) worked with Ford on interim version of eGents. Tom Bannon (OBJS) worked on the experiment to use eGents as a grid com layer. Dr. Craig Thompson (OBJS) workd on the CoAX and JBI TIEs, modifying eGents to use additional ACL commands including time-constrained subscriptions.