DOI:
Abstract:
Agent-based architectures are an effective method for constructing open, dynamic, distributed information systems. The KRAFT system exploits such an architecture, focusing on the exchange of information -- in the form of constraints and data -- among participating agents. The KRAFT approach is particularly wellsuited to solving design and configuration problems, in which constraints and data are retrieved from agents representing customers and vendors on an extranet network, transformed to a common ontology, and processed by mediator agents. This paper describes the KRAFT system, discusses the issues involved in joining a KRAFT network from tile point-of-view of information providers in Cyberspace, and examines the role of autonomous and mobile agents in KRAFT.