XML Dataspaces for the Coordination of Internet Agents

This paper presents MARS-X, a programmable coordination architecture for autonomous and mobile Internet agents. In MARS-X, mobile Internet agents coordinate through programmable XML dataspaces, accessed by agents in a Linda-like fashion. This suits very well the characteristics of both mobile Internet agents and the Internet environment itself, because MARS-X enforces open and uncoupled interactions and, via XML, it offers a high degree of standard interoperability. In addition, coordination in MARS-X is made more flexible and secure by the capability of programming the behaviour of the XML dataspaces by reaction to the agents' accesses. An application example related to the management of on-line academic courses shows the suitability and the effectiveness of the MARS-X architecture.