Agent Technology: Foundations, Applications, and Markets [Hardcover]

Nicholas R. Jennings (Editor), Michael J. Wooldridge (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2002

The first book to provide an integrative presentation of the issues, challenges and success of designing, building and using agent applications. The chapters presented are written by internationally leading authorities in the field, with a general audience in mind. The result is a unique overview of agent technology applications, ranging from an introduction to the technical foundations to reports on dealing with specific agent systems in practice.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 333 pages
• Publisher: Springer (September 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540635912
• ISBN-13: 978-3540635918
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,352,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Agent Technology is a bumpy ride, September 30, 2000

By 

Keawe Vredenburg (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Agent Technology: Foundations, Applications, and Markets (Hardcover)

The first two chapters of "Agent Technology" provide an informative introduction to the field of this branch of artificial intelligence and to the content of the book. The third chapter should have been the capstone of the introductory material, but fell short for its failure to illustrate a key point. Included in the third chapter was a poorly constructed chart that attempted to demonstrate the extent of integration required in a service order processing system. Had the chart been functionally oriented, the reader might have effortlessly identified the number of redundant systems, the degree of functional dispersal over unique systems, and even the tortuous trail taken by a customer to simply fill an order. The chart would then have illustrated precisely why that chapter, "Agent Software for Near-Term Success," is critical to understanding the proposed role of agents in today's complex systems.

A chapter on the concept of cooperating agents was excellent. It proposed a body-head-communicator metaphor for agent intellectual construction, then developed that metaphor through a language supporting some essential semantic primitives, resulting in the definition of generic agent types for any cooperative network of agents. The body performs domain-dependent functions; the head manages problem solving, and the communicator, of course, communicates with the external world. That chapter concluded with two easily visualized examples: a calendar assistant and a car parking assistant.

The chapter "Building Agent Based Systems in Telecom Networks" was too general. Although relevant to agent technology, most of the content was generally applicable to ANY agent construct, and did not seem specifically useful within telecom networks, as promised by the title of the chapter. A more apropos title for this particular chapter would have been "Mobile Agents," which is a section in that chapter and seemed more accurate.

My recommendation is the reader should initially familiarize himself with the field by reading the first two introductory chapter of "Agent Technology." Further chapters may be read as independent articles, depending on the interest or needs of the reader.