Finding and Moving Constraints in Cyberspace
Peter M. D. Gray, Kit-Ying Hui, Alun D. Preece · 1999
Agent-based architectures are an effective method for constructing open, dynamic, distributed information systems. The KRAFT system exploits such an archi-tecture, focusing on the exchange of information-- in the form of constraints and data-- among participat-ing agents. The KRAFT approach is particularly well-suited to solving design and configuration problems, in which constraints and data are retrieved from agents representing customers and vendors on an extranet net-work, transformed to a common ontology, and pro-cessed by mediator agents. This paper describes the KRAFT system, discusses the issues involved in joining a KRAFT network from tile point-of-view of informa-tion providers in Cyberspace, and examines the role of autonomous and mobile agents in KRAFT.