Agents Unleashed
A Public Domain Look at Agent Technology
Published on 28. June 2014
370 pages
978-1-4832-1436-8 (ISBN)
Description
Agents Unleashed: A Public Domain Look at Agent Technology covers details of building a secure agent realm. The book discusses the technology for creating seamlessly integrated networks that allow programs to move from machine to machine without leaving a trail of havoc; as well as the technical details of how an agent will move through the network, prove its identity, and execute its code without endangering the host. The text also describes the organization of the host's work processing an agent; error messages, bad agent expulsion, and errors in XLISP-agents; and the simulators of errors, functions, and resources. Agent language, XLISP, TCL and other languages are also considered. The book further tackles security and encryption; commercial cash; and some ambitious and extreme examples of how people are attempting to create agents. The text also encompasses the instructions on how to use the XLISP agents. Software agents will find the book invaluable.
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Book
04/1995
Academic Press
€39.62
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Person
Peter Wayner is a writer living in Baltimore and is the author of Digital Cash and Agents at Large (both Academic Press). His writings appear in numerous academic journals as well as the pages of more popular forums such as MacWorld and the New York Times. He has taught various computer science courses at Cornell University and Georgetown University.
Content
Preface Book Notes 1 Off the Coast of Cannes2 Why Agents 2.1 What Is an Agent 2.2 Why Agents 2.3 The Underlying Technology 2.4 The Goal of this Book 2.5 How To Read this Book 3 A Basic Agent 3.1 A LISP Agent 3.2 An Airline System 3.3 Summary 4 A Basic Host 4.1 The Execution Unit 4.1.1 Host Personality Files 4.2 Optional Host Features 4.3 A Sample Host 4.3.1 The Raw Database 4.3.2 Access Functions 4.3.3 Making Reservations 4.3.4 Setting Up Local Security 4.4 Summary 5 Errors 5.1 Error Messages 5.1.1 Programming Errors 5.1.2 Overreaching Errors 5.1.3 Undeliverable Errors 5.1.4 Local Errors 5.2 Bad Agent Expulsion 5.3 Errors in XLISP-Agents 5.4 Summary 6 Going Out 7 Local Personalities 7.1 Function Simulators 7.2 Error Simulators 7.3 Resource Simulators 8 Resources 8.1 Paying the Piper 8.2 Negotiation 8.3 Host Code Details 8.4 Agent Code Details 8.5 Summary 9 Agent Language 9.1 Design Goals 9.2 Memory Management 9.3 Dynamic Binding 9.4 Goodbye Pointers 9.5 Soft Crash Landings 9.6 Type Checking and Polymorphism 9.7 Why Interpret the Language 9.8 Summary 10 XLISP 10.1 Interpret or Compile 10.2 What is LISP 10.3 Modifying XLISP 10.4 Using Evalhook and Applyhook 10.5 Watching the Clock 10.6 Watching for Trouble 10.6.1 Protecting Variables 10.6.2 Protected Functions 10.6.3 Forbidden Function Calls 10.6.4 Going Faster 10.6.5 Packages 10.7 Summary 11 TCL 11.1 TCL: The language 11.1.1 Basic Structure 11.1.2 Variables 11.2 String Manipulation 11.3 Arithmetic 11.4 Lists 11.5 Control Structure 11.5.1 EVALs 11.6 Procedures 11.6.1 Global and Local Storage 11.7 Summary 12 Safe-TCL 12.1 MIME Time 12.2 Deconstructing TCL 12.3 Two Interpreters 12.4 In with the New 12.5 Safe-TCL Extensions 12.5.1 Tearing Apart Mail 12.6 User Interaction 12.7 Safe-Tk 12.8 Plugging More Holes 12.9 Summary 13 Other Languages 13.1 Telescript 13.1.1 The Basic Architecture 13.2 Python 13.2.1 Sample Code 13.3 Smalltalk 13.4 Nextstep, DSOM and Object Systems 13.5 Summary 14 Security and Encryption 14.1 The Basics of Cryptography 14.2 DES and IDEA 14.2.1 IDEA 14.3 RSA 14.4 MD-4, MD-5 and SHA 14.4.1 SHA 14.5 Digital Signature Standard 14.5.1 Digital Signature Algorithm 14.6 More Signature Schemes 14.7 PGP 2.6.1 14.7.1 PGP Details 14.8 Adapting PGP for Agents 14.9 Royalties 14.10 Judging Security 14.11 Summary 15 Cash 15.1 Digital Cashier's Checks 15.2 Endorsed Digital Cashier's Checks 15.3 Blinded Signatures 15.4 Simple Anonymous Cash 15.5 Secret Sharing 15.6 Traceable Anonymous Cash 15.7 Cash without Choices 15.8 Summary 16 Commercial Cash 16.1 NetCash 16.2 First Virtual 16.3 DigiCash 16.4 CommerceNet 16.5 Conclusions 17 Going Deeper 17.1 Emotional Agents 17.2 Matters of Taste 17.3 Negotiation 17.4 Conclusion 18 Experimenting 18.1 XLISP Agents 18.2 Safe-TCL Agents 18.3 LOADER.LSP 18.4 AIRAGENT.LSP 18.5 AIRHOST.LSP 18.6 CORE.LSP 19 Back to the Future 20 Glossary 21 Sources 21.1 Language FTP Sources 21.2 Cryptography FTP Sources 21.3 Other FTP Sources 21.4 Mosaic and WWW Pages 21.5 Newsgroups 21.6 Other Sources 22 Index
