Aglets
Encyclopedia
Aglets is a Java based mobile agent
platform and library for building mobile agents based applications. An aglet is a Java agent which can autonomously and spontaneously move from one host to another carrying a piece of code with it. It can be programmed to execute at a remote host and show different behaviours at different hosts. Java based security implementations take care of authorised access to local resources at the remote hosts.
Aglets was originally developed by Mitsuru Oshima ("") and Danny Lange
at the IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory
. The original name of the project was AWB (Aglets WorkBench) and IBM
was responsible for most of the 1.x release. However the project is now hosted at SourceForge.net
as an open source
project, where it is distributed under the IBM Public License
. In the beginning, the SourceForge releases had been only bug-fix ones, but 2.x series(most of which came from open source community only) had better security and thread management. It now includes a log4j
based logging system and a few bug-fixes of the older versions.
Aglets is completely written in Java, thus allowing a high portability of both the agents and the platform. Aglets includes both a complete Java mobile agent platform, with a stand-alone server called Tahiti, and a library that allows developers to build mobile agents and to embed the Aglets technology in their applications.
No new releases of Aglets have been made since 2001, although an updated users manual was released in 2004. The future of the project is unclear.
Mobile agent
In computer science, a mobile agent is a composition of computer software and data which is able to migrate from one computer to another autonomously and continue its execution on the destination computer.-Definition and overview:...
platform and library for building mobile agents based applications. An aglet is a Java agent which can autonomously and spontaneously move from one host to another carrying a piece of code with it. It can be programmed to execute at a remote host and show different behaviours at different hosts. Java based security implementations take care of authorised access to local resources at the remote hosts.
Aglets was originally developed by Mitsuru Oshima ("") and Danny Lange
Danny Lange
Dr. Danny B. Lange is Software Architect in the Unlimited Potential Group at Microsoft where he is the principal architect behind the OneApp mobile phone platform. Prior to UPG, he was the architect in the Search Group responsible for Mobile Search. He is widely known for his invention of the...
at the IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory
IBM Research
IBM Research, a division of IBM, is a research and advanced development organization and currently consists of eight locations throughout the world and hundreds of projects....
. The original name of the project was AWB (Aglets WorkBench) and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
was responsible for most of the 1.x release. However the project is now hosted at SourceForge.net
SourceForge.net
SourceForge is a web-based source code repository. It acts as a centralized location for software developers to control and manage open source software development. The website runs a version of SourceForge Enterprise Edition, forked from the last open-source version available...
as an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
project, where it is distributed under the IBM Public License
IBM Public License
The IBM Public License is a free software / open-source software license written and sometimes used by IBM.It is approved by the Open Source Initiative and is described as a "free software license" by the Free Software Foundation ....
. In the beginning, the SourceForge releases had been only bug-fix ones, but 2.x series(most of which came from open source community only) had better security and thread management. It now includes a log4j
Log4j
Apache log4j is a Java-based logging utility. It was originally written by Ceki Gülcü and is now a project of the Apache Software Foundation. log4j is one of several Java Logging Frameworks....
based logging system and a few bug-fixes of the older versions.
Aglets is completely written in Java, thus allowing a high portability of both the agents and the platform. Aglets includes both a complete Java mobile agent platform, with a stand-alone server called Tahiti, and a library that allows developers to build mobile agents and to embed the Aglets technology in their applications.
No new releases of Aglets have been made since 2001, although an updated users manual was released in 2004. The future of the project is unclear.
External links
- http://aglets.sourceforge.net/ — Aglets portal site
- http://www.trl.ibm.com/aglets/ — IBM Research
- http://www.artima.com/underthehood/aglets.html — "The Architecture of Aglets", Bill Venners, April 1997