RFC 2016 (rfc2016) - Page 1 of 21

Uniform Resource Agents (URAs)

Network Working Group                                          L. Daigle
Request for Comments: 2016                                    P. Deutsch
Category: Experimental                                         B. Heelan
                                                              C. Alpaugh
                                                           M. Maclachlan
                                        Bunyip Information Systems, Inc.
                                                            October 1996

                     Uniform Resource Agents (URAs)

Status of this Memo

   This memo defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
   community.  This memo does not specify an Internet standard of any
   kind.  Discussion and suggestions for improvement are requested.
   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Abstract

   This paper presents an experimental architecture for an agent system
   that provides sophisticated Internet information access and
   management.  Not a generalized architecture for active objects that
   roam the Internet, these agents are modeled as extensions of existing
   pieces of the Internet information infrastructure.  This experimental
   agent technology focuses on the necessary information structures to
   encapsulate Internet activities into objects that can be activated,
   transformed, and combined into larger structured activities.

Acknowledgements

   Several people have shared thoughts and viewpoints that have helped
   shape the thinking behind this work over the past few years.  We'd
   like to thank, in particular, Chris Weider, Patrik Faltstrom, Michael
   Mealling, Alan Emtage, and the participants in the IETF URI Working
   Group for many thought-provoking discussions.

   Sima Newell provided insightful comments on the document -- thanks to
   her it is much more readable!

Introduction

   This document outlines an experimental agent system architecture that
   was designed for the purpose of addressing high-level Internet
   activities through encapsulation of protocol-specific actions.
   Originally presented to the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) working
   group at the IETF, this technology was seen as taking a step beyond
   resource location and resource naming.  By providing a structured
   mechanism for abstracting characteristics of desired information and



Daigle, et. al.               Experimental