RFC 2016 (rfc2016) - Page 1 of 21
Uniform Resource Agents (URAs)
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
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